My Family

go to recipie

2010-03-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Winter Ravioli

I made this (from a real simple mag. recipie) our first christmas together, and i still love it. i've added our favorite things along the way.

-frozen ravioli (love the trader joes portabello mushroom)

-canelli beans (one or two cans, depending on how much you want to make)

-canned diced tomatos

-sauted spinach (with garlic, onion & mushroom)

mix altogether for an easy, filling, delicious meal! ummmm

Kalas- they must be greek

2010-02-02T08:31:00.001-08:00

Whenever we go over the bridge to edgewater (3 or 4 days out of the week) I have several sweet memories of my parents.
Kalas Funeral Home despite it being a funeral home brings a big smile to my face. Whenever my parents visited- every time we drove by my dad would say "Kalas, they must be Greek." I am talking every time. I think my mom would get irritated, but eventually just laughed as did I. We loved the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, so I think some of the joking came from that.

Another Edgewater story involved road trips to new york YEARS and YEARS ago. We ALWAYS took the back roads when traveling- so instead of I95 for 9 hours we traveled via 301 to Nana's house. I do remember all of the car dealerships in waldorf (we have a picture of Ivan with the hummers & palm trees) and the playground equipment at the Maryland welcome center with the powerplant in the background.
One of the first times my parents came to our townhouse in Edgewater they kept saying- we can't believe that you live near the baseball bat! Baseball bat huh? And sure enough- near the burger king & annap. seafood restaurant there is a giant concrete baseball bat. There must have been a batting cage or mini golf or something there back in the day. And our house was right behind that.

I love how something from my past is relevant and can give me something to smile about in the present.

sweet thing

2010-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Charlie continues to grow and change at a considerable rate every day.
She started walking on new years eve- that will be easy to remember.
Since then we have been ON THE GO. we don't sit still for a moment and i am tired all the time!

sweetest things though:
charlie is feeding her teddy bears and dolls bottles- SO sweet. This was totally unprompted (she first used a shampoo bottle for a bottle- then we pulled out some old ones.)
and she is kissing every animal or baby in any of her books. SO sweet.

oh the fun of being one!

2009-12-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

almost a month later........

charlie's first birthday was a fantastic day- she had no idea what was going on and was asleep for the first half of her party. which was jungle themed- very fun! I had my best friend Alicia up from north carolina to get everything together.

what an awesome day- and amazing friends & family to help celebrate this milestone. we are truly blessed.

on another note i figured it was time to change up some of the decorations in charlie's room. here are the old pics- cards from baby shower (i've since replaced w/ cards from 1st birthday, but haven't taken pics yet.) this girl is growing up! :)

i've yet to put them up- but i found some old school letter cards that i am going to hang up on the wall. i've been searching for the perfect set and just never ordered any. while going through things from my parents house i found these- full of tape & pin marks. I'm sure they lined the walls of all of our rooms when we were little. having this to put up for charlie is so very special. will have to take pics soon!

sweet moments

2009-11-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

i keep saying "i need to write down the sweet things that charlie is doing..." so here we go:

- flirtatious "hi"- is SO cute- batting her L-O-N-G eyelashes & softly saying hi. it melts our hearts!
- sharing- the halloween candy bucket kept her busy for a long time- pull the candy in, take it out, put it in..... one day she was handing me pieces and for whatever reason i wasn't paying attention. charlie grabs my hand, opens it, and places a piece of candy in it. so sweet.
- jason taught her "just kidding" where she cracks up- he'll pass balls, toys, candy, whatever back and forth but every now and then instead of giving it to her he grabs it back and says, "tricked you..." she laughs and laughs. i think she is learning to trick us now too.
-"daddy's home"- when jason gets home if we're in the family room she rushes to the window where she can see him get out of the car- she laughs and squeals when he comes up to the window to see her.
- noticing other babies- we've had several itty bitty babies over recently and she is interested in them for sure. maybe she needs a sibiling? :)
-crusing all around- it is just fascinating to watch her figure things out- learning to sit back down on her own, leanring that certain drawers will pinch fingers- down to little things like helping herself get dressed.
-weaned herself from nursing- right at 11 months. i am glad she stopped when she was ready.

we're coming up on her first birthday- where did the time go? and it took about a year- but i am having my first night away from home this weekend- and i have to say that i CANNOT wait! i have really needed a break and am going to the beach with a girlfriend to volunteer at a friends 5K race. saturday afternoon- come on! :)

clean floor, no more.....

2009-09-14T17:08:00.001-07:00

should have known that after scrubbing, and i mean scrubbing the floor under the high chair (and washing the seat cover, all that fun stuff) ALL of tonights dinner would end up on the floor! in my attempt to find low sodium waffles/pancakes (because charlie scarfs up eggos) the healthier ones didn't fly too well...... so i ended up mixing them in with some pureed fruit :)

ok, and pictures aren't cooperating...... don't have the energy to try to figure out how to correct....

where oh where......

2009-08-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

i know that is a kiddie song- haven't learned it yet- although now i think the tune will be in my head (and yours!) for a while. ooops!

Been too long, huh? We've been all over the place! Mid July Charlie and I went to North Carolina- we never have enough time there- ever. But we squeezed in time here and there- the main reason was going to a meeting/mediation with our lawyers about the lawsuit from my family's accident. What a nightmare- it was draining mentally & emotionally- and nothing really happened. We knew it wouldn't- but it was a hard day. Hopefully this will all be wrapped up in 6-8 months (candidly speaking.... hehehe).

Flora rode home with me to maryland and we had days full of spongebob & swimming! Julia came up a few days later and us girls headed north to Grandma's. What a special trip that was- a slow paced time on beautiful property and good food. After a few days we headed east to Nana's where life is a little bit faster paced. Charlie had her first trip to NYC- she loved it of course. As hard as it was traveling and sleeping (she actually slept very very well)- it was SO worth it to see family- especially grandmothers. I'm thankful we can take off and my husband will stay home and work very hard!

Early August just the three of us headed to the beach- a beautiful home of a co-worker of jasons that we were able to stay at. It was a great time- but now i see why people travel with nannies or their whole family! Charlie rules the schedule- but I am totally ok with that. She def. takes priority and when she is happy- we are all happy!

So we've been home for a couple of weeks now- Charlie is growing and growing. She's such a doll. She is very happy *most* of the time- when she's not it is very frustrating! (today she screamed on our whole walk- but when we got home and picked her up- she let out a BIG burp- we'll remember that next time!).

I've got exciting things going on here and there- i wish there were more than 24 hours in a day!

Burger Tradition

2009-07-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Submarine Sandwiches- that is what we did EVERY year on the 4th of july. Other things included a parade in Caldwell, fireworks at the Hils' house in Efland or at the courthouse in carrboro- and one year there was a parade in Graham maybe?

I personally LOVE fireworks but we haven't seen them (on the 4th) in a couple of years. Last year we were at a buffet dinner in OC while the fireworks show was going on (the place was empty!) and this year we had a wonderful afternoon at our old house with the neighbors- Charlie loved the doggies!

So I made a platter of subs and we enjoyed the weather & company. Happy 4th of July! One year we'll make it to DC- that will be fun!

mom would be proud

2009-07-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

I think it's fitting that on the day my mom would have turned 60- I did something I know she'd be proud of! Well- she'd probably be proud of me for lots of things..... :)

After Charlie went to bed I *thought* it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping and get it out of the way. I never thought the store would be so crowded at 9pm! Maybe it is the holiday weekend....

Anyway, mom would be proud b/c at the checkout the woman gave me my total- $40 something dollars and said- "wow, you got a lot of groceries for 40 dollars- I am impressed!" Oh it was a great Barbara Burger moment- and it made me smile lots.

Love you and miss you mom!

down by the bay.......

2009-06-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

had a wonderful weekend w/ family & might as well be family (fab. friends!) Charlie had her first experience in a swimming pool- loved it- first time being in the sand (didn't give her a chance to get it in her mouth.....) and played with daddy all day on his first fathers day. She is 7 months old now- wow!
We've been spending lots of time at home and quick trips here and there in between naps- this kid rules the house!

dogsitting for the neighbors

playing in the morning

cool website

2009-06-09T06:43:00.001-07:00

I am always looking for unique things off the beaten path- came across this cool site that can direct you to interesting places!

www.roadsideamerica.com

this week we are going to the enchanted forest in ellicot city for charlie to see the animals. she already LOVES cats & dogs- she is so sweet!

another month!

2009-05-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Bullet points are easier (thanks Jessica!)

wow, what a month! we've been doing great- getting a great schedule going, enjoying the weather, sleeping a bit more:)

charlie at 6 months-

we have our checkup this week, so don't know her weight & height yet. she's a growing- and eating solids- i made oh 10 lbs of sweet potatos today..... stocked up for quite a while. tried avacado today, i ate more than her :)

memorial day weekend was great- great friends to be with and a super time with just the three of us.

so sad about john & kate +8........ MY opinion is that they should yank the show, regardless of their relationship status. i feel so bad for both of them- but john looked so pitiful during his solo interviews.

have had some super hard days with thinking of my parents & brother. it stinks because when other things in life are hard- it seems that much harder that they're not here. and reminders are everywhere. I am thankful to be able to have mostly positive thoughts and reactions, but those hard times get in there good. i see some therapy in my future......

working hard with the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults- so much fun. I'm thankful to have had more speaking opportunities- some bigger, some small- I'm gaining insight on new and different aspects of my cancer journey to share & relate with others. doing relay for life with a dear friend nancy next week- looking forward to that.
not much else, or if there is I can't remember.... i have been forgetting EVERYTHING these days....

April Pics

2009-04-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Rolled over for the first time during the blessing of easter dinner- no one saw it!

everything in the mouth & doing push ups

watching final four basketball w/ daddy!

a visit from DEAR friends the Balamucki's from North Carolina!

Best Bud Whitaker Samples came to visit from Ohio- we miss them!

Finally a nice, warm day outside

Not a happy girl

George Castanza eat your heart out!

easter sunday!

2009-04-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Charlie slept through church!

And we were hoping to get lots more pics of this peanut in her pretty dress (now I understand why people do this BEFORE easter!)- it was too chilly, so we'll have to do another photo shoot- perhaps at Duke Gardens or Ayr Mount next week! Yay!

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord & Saviour! :)

4 months!

2009-03-23T06:47:00.003-07:00

cutest baby at the bar

2009-03-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

And probably the ONLY baby at the bar (we were home by 7:30- we're not bad parents! :) )(our neighbor made the HUGE cupcake for our annual neighborhood party- can we say sugar rush?)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Imerman Angels

2009-03-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

I just found out about this organization, and if you know of anyone currently in any kind of cancer treatment, or a past patient, see if they'd be interested in becoming matched up with someone of the same type of cancer. Just to be able to talk to someone else about a similar experience can be so helpful during a scary, unpredictable situation.

http://www.imermanangels.org/index.php

Also, the Ulman Cancer Fund posted my little story on their blog, check it out! :)

http://ulmanfund.blogspot.com/

march 13th

2009-03-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm missing Ivan all day, he would have been 23.
I am thankful to have memories of him being young, vibrant, strong- happy. even though his life was cut way too short, the life he had was great. it wasn't perfect- but he was happy, and made those around him happy.
Miss you bro-

11, the event

2009-03-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

This week I had the pleasure of getting out to an event by the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults with a couple of girlfriends who are also cancer survivors. One of the featured guests was hgtv host Vern Yip from deserving design- we got to meet him, but it was funny- we were having our picture taken with him, and he didn't even engage in conversation..... oh well, he must have been tired or something...... We got to watch an advanced screening of his show that he did for a scholarship recipient of the UCF- so that was a lot of fun.

Perhaps the most exciting part was meeting Doug Ulman, the founder of UCF. He started this foundation 11 years ago at the age of 19 when he was diagonosed with cancer and had no where to go for support. He was too old for pediatrics, but WAY younger than the patients in his clinic. I felt the same way during my treatments. Everyone always thought my mom was the patient (as if my bald head didn't give it away....) when we went to appointments. Anyway, we got to chat with Doug for quite a while, and it was pretty awesome. And it wasn't until after that I made the connection that Doug is now the president/CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation..... wow!

I'm looking forward to getting more involved with the Ulman Cancer Fund. They have LOTS of running events that I will not be taking part of! But it has been my desire for a while to become a mentor/supporter of young adults who are going through cancer treatment, so this will open some good doors! And it's my long term goal to go back to school at some point and get a degree in counseling to be able to work professionally with young adult cancer patients.

It's funny, I can look back at my cancer experience and find SO many positives that have come out of it. I am truly thankful for it. :)

we'll miss you Decker

2009-02-27T13:18:00.001-08:00

a dear friend and old neighbor, Mike Decker passed away last night. His health had been pretty poor and he had been in and out of the hospital and rehab centers- but it's a sad day.

I don't know how many hours we spent in his garage watching football, the neighborhood parties, 4th of july cookouts, trick or treating in the driveway, LOTS of homecooked, delicious meals that were delivered often, attacks from the Goof on a daily basis.... the list goes on.

We love you Mike!

love it

2009-02-27T13:16:00.001-08:00

3 months!

2009-02-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

sisters!

2009-02-17T16:38:00.001-08:00

bye bye bassinet

2009-02-17T16:33:00.001-08:00

I figured since the bassinet beside the bed was looking like this, I better take it out!

Charlie has been in her own room for three weeks now! and sleeping for about 10 hours straight. I'll take it!

stinky butt

2009-02-11T18:26:00.001-08:00

no explanation needed...
it is timely that the "stinky, stinky stinky / hefty, hefty hefty" commercial is back on! that is one of our new fav. phrases!

we're getting there!

2009-01-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

Last night Charlie slept from 8pm-5am in her own room (with a 2am feeding in there....). I missed her- and think I stayed awake longer making sure I could hear the monitor (that was right next to my head....)
No kind of routine yet- but we're slowly but surely sleeping a little longer..... the poor thing has been waking up consistently at 5am screaming with gas pain..... = no fun. we're on week 10, hopefully it will subside after 12 weeks?
I think Charlie has a little cold- all day it was eat, cry, sleep; eat, cry, sleep. No fever though.

Oh the neverending list of things to do..... laundry here I come. yay.

playtime!

2009-01-28T11:56:00.001-08:00

Miss Anna Townley was so gentle and loving towards Charlie- I'm guessing a mercy gift there!

Here is Miss Sedona Clarke & Charlie- we loved getting out of the house and seeing new toys!

too cute for words

2009-01-28T11:53:00.001-08:00

two months

2009-01-22T08:28:00.001-08:00

wow- life with charlie is something else!

she's 9.5 lbs & 22 inches long.

we're learning her cues & what makes her happy, it is exciting to see her develop & grow.

little thing doesn't like to be put down, so i have gotten good at doing things one handed!

growing girl

2009-01-16T06:06:00.001-08:00

Charlie Ann is getting big! Today is 8 weeks, and her 2 month appointment is next wednesday- so we'll find out her height and weight next week.

But I know she's growing like a weed- we had to change to size one diapers up from newborns (they look HUGE on her!) and she is fitting in to her three month sleepers.

we also had a couple of firsts the other day- first time eating in the car, and having a diaper change in the car. it went quite well!

Farewell Samples

2009-01-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

We will miss you tons!

where's dinner?

2009-01-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Why, it's still at the store.
I've realized that I am really sleep deprived. I got home from appointments and errands today (within 5 lbs of prepregnancy weight! was pleasently suprised at the drs. on the scale- but boy has that weight shifted around!) and fed charlie. She's been super fussy= no fun.
I realized I must have left the grocieries in the car (Jason requested italian sausage w/ pasta)- so I go out- no grocries. Well, maybe I did put them in the fridge when I got home. No- no where to be found.
Yeah, I did the self checkout at Giant. I never bagged my sausage, lettuce, garlic bread and gorgonzola cheese up. Dang! Luckily I had some ground meat already in the fridge, finally got Charlie to be quiet (although not if her paci falls out.....) and have somewhat of a decent meal. I was really looking forward to my salad.
So I hope someone is enjoying some extra groceries.
I wonder how much sleep I'll get tonight!

I actually want her to wake up!

2009-01-05T08:18:00.001-08:00

So daytime napping is something that Charlie isn't a big fan of. Her habit seems to be down for 20 minutes, then up again..... unless we go out- then she sleeps the whole time (we go out a lot).
(it also seems like if she's sleeping more during the day, she sleeps better at night- is that an absurd observation?)

Since she didn't sleep all that great last night, and cried & cried this morning...... she's knocked herself out. But now I want her to wake up so she can eat- I'm filling up! (TMI!)

Now I have plenty to do during these unexpected longer naps (dishes, laundry, folding, trash, vacuum, christmas decorations, mail, bills, phone calls, (when is my next dr appointment?), grocieres, thank yous, recylcing..... sound familiar!) but all I want to do is go back to bed! Goodness. I've managed to catch the awful cold that is going around. I did get a humidifier to run at night. I think Charlie loves the noise that it makes.

OK- enough complaining (for now!)

splish splash!

2009-01-02T19:22:00.001-08:00

best present ever!

2008-12-12T08:13:00.000-08:00

like mother, like daughter

2008-12-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

we're still here!

2008-12-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

Hey friends- whew! Two weeks tomorrow since our little charlie was born! Amazing! She is so incredible, and we are having a great time adjusting and learning all about her. Here are a bunch of pics. : )

family photos

2008-11-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

These are some of the pics that I was so excited about taking while we were in NC. We went to the same place where we got married- can't wait to take Charlie there next year and do more of the same!

cankles & frozen pizza

2008-11-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

After a super productive day, I am glad to be home in front of the tv.

I am a little jealous though, my husband is at Lewnes for dinner, and I am having frozen pizza. (for those of you who are not in MD, Lewnes is only THE best steak around!) Who is the one about to give birth here? (should have come back for dinner jacq!) :) No, I am glad for him- and his brothers wanted to take him out before Charlie is born. Jason deserves it too- he's been working extra hard lately, and all his hard work has allowed me to have the past 4 weeks to rest, prepare, and try to get as organized as possible as our family is about to change in a major way!

And yeah, my hormones have kicked into FULL gear. I kept amazing myself about how cool and collected and never upset I was..... that changed! ha. It's Brooke's fault- after seeing her testimony again this sunday at church, I have been a wreck! :) Her testimony is amazing, and getting to know her over the past few years and seeing her family grow is such a testimony to God's love and power and faithfullness. OK- have to stop talking about it! :) The reality of giving birth is starting to sink in, and just that we will soon be a family of three. It's exciting and scary as hell! (and.... someone at church told me I must be getting close b/c my face is really filling out- thanks a lot!)

So I'm much closer to having a bag packed for the hospital, the diaper changing stations upstairs & down stocked, most all laundry done, shopping sprees & target & babies r us with remaining giftcards (that resulted in the cankles)-

Now I can enjoy my dvr'd shows of gossip girl, one tree hill, and general hospital. Sweet! :)

Tomorrow is another fun filled day- one last sonogram before the big arrival, and I get to spend the afternoon w/ two amazing girls- can't wait.

If there are no leftovers from Lewnes, Jason promised to take me out for a steak dinner within the next week, my vote is for the orignal steakhouse in edgewater, so if anyone wants to join, we'll let you know when!

I need to redo this pic in the black tank- not as dramatic in the stripes. B/c I am feeling a lot bigger than this!

animal control

2008-11-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

yuck- yesterday while passing my neighbor coming into the neighborhood, he stopped and said- I have some bad news..... ok- there was a dead deer in our back yard. Glad it wasn't a human death, but sad!
So my girlfriend and I get home, and sure enough- straight ahead in front of the driveway right on the treeline of the yard is a poor deer, laying there.
Called animal control right away and they said they'd send someone out to pick it up today. So when the guy comes, all he does is wear plastic gloves, he drags the deer across the yard- gross. I came outside but wouldn't look at the thing- he said it was a BIG deer- had horns or bucks- whatever you call them- even! He didn't know what caused it's death, which is kinda a bummer- would have been nice to know. I went inside as he started hoisting it in the back of his truck- which he told me not to come near- must have been more road kill in the back.
Gross. What a hard job to have.

You can tell how exciting my day has been, huh! :)
Got a fun visit from my little man Whitaker & Jacqueline. We had the best intentions of taking advantage of the weather and walking, but I sure couldn't get my butt off the couch.
But despite having a long day after not sleeping..... (what will we do after charlie is born and we're up all night!) I whipped up a great dinner and have spinach lasanga cooking up- yum.
Back to the couch :)

nursery pics

2008-11-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Whew- we're all ready for charlie- just need her! the room is beautiful, and we love to just go in and sit! Kitty likes to be in with us too, she probably thinks it's all for her.
The delivery people from pottery barn assembled the changing table, Jason's dad assembled the crib, and I did the little bookshelves. I'm working on a pin board to go up on the wall, and will get other pictures or prints to put up eventually. It's very exciting!
I get checked up on tomorrow- been having different feelings (that kinda hurt) here and there, but nothing major. I've def. slowed it down a lot more and am so tired. and hungry! Ice cream just isn't an after dinner snack anymore! :)
Anyway, just thought I'd share!

stork parking!

2008-11-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

LMAO

2008-10-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ

Good Golly

2008-10-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

35 weeks and counting

Whew I am starting to feel it. Yesterday we had a sonogram (NO good pictures) and learned that Charlie is head down, head is ON my bladder- that explains a lot, she's a little over 5lbs, has long legs, has lots of hair, is in the fetal position (duh), butt is on my left side, feet on my right. The Dr. said "we'll see you again in four weeks if you haven't already delivered!!!!" Yikes! But that was exciting, and good news. I've been going so often b/c they're monitoring the one placenta artery, there is usually two. But thank heavens she has been developing right on target and there has been no worries. Praise God! I did get on the scale today- I have never weighed this much..... I know I can't complain- but geez. And I don't think there are many male blog readers out there, but just in case skip the next sentence..... today I did it- bought granny panties. Just got them out of the wash- and they are HUGE. And I can't WAIT to get them on tomorrow! :) Oh what is this world coming to?
Tonight we had our hospital tour- we were in the delivery room and the lady was showing us all of the features on the bed...... after exchanging glances with Jason the girl beside me said, this must be your first! Yep! We are super slackers and don't take our birth class until November 1st..... ooops...

Jacqueline without an 11lb baby in her tummy!

Other than that, things are coming right along. My get er done girlfriend Jacqueline brought her new little man Whittaker over to see me yesterday and while he slept in the swing we unpacked and did LOTS of organizing in Charlie's room. Thank you Jacq! What would I have done without you? I have the crib, just not put together, and have my changing table on order, so things are coming right along! I made a drawer for Charlie in the kitchen today and put the bottles and sippy cups..... love it.

I was SO incredibly blessed by my friends and family this past weekend with a shower- I'm telling you the people around me are so generous. And all the "stuff" is awesome and cute, and nesecary (well, most of it!) but to know that I have so much love and support around me is just amazing. I shared with my girlfriends and family that I know my parents would be happy to know that I have so many around that care for us- and that I hope to make them proud by raising a little girl who loves God, and loves others. I really am thankful for all the women in my life! (and the guys too!)

The beautiful quilt that my sister made- LOVE it!

My aunts, nana, sister & neice were in town- and that was wonderful. I LOVE having Jason's family close, and we see them often- but having my own family here was so comforting.

The week has gone by fast- I still have quite a bit to do on the to do list- big priority is to find a pediatrician! Called one today and they aren't taking new patients.... great. So much to do around the house- but it will all get done. :)

And congrats to very good friends who tied the knot recently- Shaun & Deanna in Wilmington- Jason gave a wonderful (and long) best man speech- he worked SO hard on it! We love you guys and had an AMAZING weekend at the beach-

And Michelle & Tommy- what a beautiful wedding you had this past weekend- perfect weather! Jason was in this one too, as a bridesman! I love it! He went to the bachellorette party, the wedding shower.... rode with the girls in the limo to the church- I love my man! Here is Michelle with their son Thomas before the ceremony & me & the lovely bride w/ my double chin.....

Introducing.....

2008-10-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

Ellee Keiko Burger!!!

10-10-08

Congrats to my big brother Jeremy & beautiful wife Michelle- we couldn't be more excited! She looks just like Jeremy as a baby!

Now Open

2008-10-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

In Annapolis: target! yay! I thought it was opening on Sunday, but they must have opened early! Whoo-hoo!
And I hadn't driven through the new shopping center yet- Anthropologie is coming- watch out!

10-1-05

2008-10-01T06:12:00.001-07:00

Yay Jacqueline!

2008-09-24T14:49:00.001-07:00

My prego buddy Jacqueline gave birth on Sunday to a beautiful BIG baby boy- welcome Whittaker Lee Samples!

BGE Loves Me

2008-09-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am currently using the:
washer
dryer
dishwasher
did a sink full of pots & pans
computer
tv is on
stovetop
oven

At least the air conditioner is off- that should save me some right?
And at least I'm being productive- but what I should be doing is sitting my butt on the couch with a cup of tea and box of kleenex..... maybe tomorrow.....

30 weeks?

2008-09-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

It's bad when I can't remember how far along I am..... pretty sure it's around 30 weeks- which is SO hard to believe! I am starting to feel the extra weight- my back hurts, my feet hurt..... Little Charlie is around 3 lbs! I am right on target and progressing very well. So thankful for that!

I have been miserable though for almost a week now with a lingering cold. It is awful, and I have slept for days and days and have drank LOTS of OJ, water, juice, hot tea, more water, more OJ..... no relief. At the doctor tomorrow I'll beg to take some kind of otc medicine that will knock it out for good. I have taken it easy though- didn't go to richmond which made me very sad, but it was the right choice. I shouldn't have gone to work on Sunday, but oh well. So hopefully I'll get better soon.
Because I'm not missing my high school reunion in NC this weekend! I'm really looking forward to it. I've seen and talked with a lot of people from high school, but it will still be a blast.

What else? Not a whole lot. Just a lot of TV watching..... which soon a new teenie bopper show, Priviledged is on- it's cool b/c one of Jason's good friends is the lead male role- "the hot neighbor" so it is fun seeing Brian on tv. He's done a lot of one time roles on shows like CSI, Bones, Cold Case, and stuff like that, but this is a bigger, longer role. So yay Brian!

oh baby!

2008-09-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

A good friend just dropped off two BIG bins of baby clothes- and oh my- they are SO cute! They're cuddly and tiny- lots of onsies & sleepers- which is great. And lots of cute little outfits & dresses- this little one is in for it! I'm going to have to get a bigger dresser! And the two bins only go to 6 months- there is no way she'll ever wear it all!
I'm so thankful for hand me downs!

Last week I had a great trip to NC- starting with a wedding in Solomon's Island- congrats Andy & Wendy! The ceremony was so sweet- and the reception lots of fun- got to see Jason's friends that he grew up with that moved away- and they all had fun talking to little c! :)

The lovely bride & groom- getting their latin flare on!

apple green reunion:

Yay Deanna- you're next! It's coming up so soon!

And then Sunday drove right to Michelle's baby shower- what a sweet time. She's about 4 weeks away from her due date- it's hard to believe how big she is- and how I'll be that way before too long! Little Baby Burger- everyone thinks it's a boy- but we'll find out soon enough!

One of Julia's masterpiece quilts (can't wait to see what mine looks like!!!)

Sisters :)

Looking forward to another fun busy week! Tomorrow will be an awesome concert, Gavin Degraw with fun girlfriends. Then over the weekend hanging out with all my Raliegh peeps in Richmond! Trying to get all of the traveling and fun done while I still can!

Football season is underway.....I like it when everyone gets together to hang out, but it is going to be a long season.... I'm glad Jason enjoys it. Today I kicked his butt in one of those arcade basketball games- bring it on! We're supposed to give Kitty a bath, but I think we'll be too tired.

Cravings this week: SNICKERS ummmm!

thankful for family

2008-08-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a week long trip to see various family members- it was so nice. My sister Julia and her husband Will, and daughter Flora came to MD on Friday the 15th- we had a super busy weekend of cookouts and parties- it was great.
Monday morning we headed out for New Rochelle- to see my dad's mom Nana and two sisters, Aunt Joan & Aunt Liz. We headed out for some fun- but the amusement park we headed for was closed.... but that's ok, b/c we got to go to Walters Hot Dog stand- VERY good! We had a great night of talking, walking the dog, just spending time together. It is always cool to be in my dad's childhood home and to recall my own memories of going there while we were growing up.

Tuesday morning we were off (after I slept in till 8am!) to LaFayette- Grandma's house (mom's mom). That was about a 5-6 hour drive (broken up by cracker barrell for lunch..... ummmm!). We found grandma in the barn tending to her unbelievable garlic harvest. This woman is incredible. We stayed w/ an Aunt & Uncle (mark & melissa) who live a few miles down the road in a beautiful timber framed house overlooking fields & forests. It is so quiet out there and peaceful. I'm not a fan of the winter- but I'd love to be up during a snow. By the time the weekend came tons of aunts and uncles & cousins came to town to be together- I was so thankful to be able to get away and spend time continuing to get to know my relatives.

Highlights of the week away:

- not being the driver! was able to sit back & relax!

- Hot dogs from walters :)

- walking to the park and talking about my parents w/ Julia & Liz

- listening to my nana talk about how she recently took the train to the city (nyc) and just had a great time walking around.

- seeing a wonderful picture I hadn't seen before of my parents while they were in college

- having my picture taken w/ Derek- I know there must be one from growing up, but I needed another one. Derek is worthy of having his own post one day.

-sleeping till noon one day while everyone else was at work or sightseeing!

-not watching hardly any tv

- seeing a cousin's daughter eat cotton candy for the first time at the NY State Fair

-wearing a dress that my mom made while she was pregnant with me and wearing it for "the hen party" (baby shower w/ my relatives at grandma's house)

- getting to spend some time w/ a girlfriend from high school who goes to the same college my parents went to (and getting excited about our high school reunion coming up!)

- going to Knoxie's (the bar that you drive by everyday but have never been in)

- seeing my 84 year old grandmother with her twin sister- and not always being able to tell them apart! They need to write a book!

- going to the cemetary where my dad lies & my mom and brother are remembered. Seeing two fawns run away as we leave from there- and just feeling close to them.

- fried green tomatoes at the Dinosaur BBQ

- everything else we ate at the Dinosaur BBQ for that matter (mac & cheese, wings, pork egg rolls..... we had the bbq the day before at the state fair!)

- reading and relaxing

Things that I could have done without:

- the cd selection in the car (sorry will......but I do agree 100% that the driver picks the music!)

- a week without my husband

- going to the cemetary.....first time since the burial. It was good in a hard way.

- a week without my kitty!

- not feeling Charlie move as much- but I swear as soon as we crossed the MD state line at midnight she got back to kicking..... but it did make me paranoid all week that she wasn't moving a lot!

- some hurtful conversations and not being able to ask my mom what to do!

- the hardness of the water in new york state- it just smelled funny!

- random food at random times- glad I took the jumbo sized tums bottle......

Ukraniane Catholic Cemetary in Syracuse, NY.

Derek & me. Is Derek technically my uncle? Not sure!

A VERY happy pregnant girl w/ some of the best food in the country!

Julia, Grandma & me- ready to go home, but not ready to leave!

Grandma's homegrown garlic. Amazing!

Fabulous Birthday!

2008-08-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

It's the week of Sylvia..... :)

No, last night we had my birthday dinner at the Melting Pot- I was very suprised to have flowers & balloons waiting at the table when we got there- thank you husband! We had never been there before so had fun picking things out. Makes me want a fondue pot!

This morning went to work to come in to this:

My boss Kelly is THE most creative, fun, generous person! I've been so blessed to have worked for her for two years! Each baggie had a little thing for Charlie- shoes, hat, blanket, shirt...... all pink, green, & brown polka dots. This little one is in for it! :)
Had a very productive day at work, lots of hugs- VERY tired.

I was supposed to teach a middle school bible study tonight for a group of girls, but had to back out. Feeling too exauhsted, and these days I know when to listen to my body. So we've just had a relaxing night- napping with Kitty, looking forward to gymnastics.

28 is wonderful so far! Although it's 8:30 & I'm ready for bed!

The crazy week continues......

My feet are disappearing!

2008-08-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Growing

2008-08-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here we are at 25 weeks..... it's scary to think I'll only get bigger! Just bought new tennis shoes (I only had the other ones for three years..... can you tell how much I exercise!) to absorb the weight better. :) We had a sonogram last week and she was hiding- hands in front of her face- she was doubled up so her feet were in front of her face too! She must have stretched out again, because she's kicking away.

Looking forward to having my sister in town this weekend- then we head to see both sides of our family in New York.

It's a crazy week- but I just cleaned and organized the pantry- I feel very productive today! :)

Get the Door.....

2008-08-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's Dominos! How many of you already knew that was coming?
So on dominos.com your whole order is tracked and they tell you exactly what they're doing with your pizza!
"Joshua put your order in the oven at 5:50."
For whatever reason, I think this is really cool! It's almost as if they have a "daycare camera" so you can follow every step of the way.
And then there's the "fact-o-meter."- the average american eats 46 slices of pizza a year. Am I above average? Not sure. Probably.
OK- this is more believeable- American's eat 100 acres of pizza a day- thats 350 slices per second. Cool but gross!

OK enough facts- I'm hungry! Uh-oh- my pizza baked for 8 minutes- it's now in the heatwave bag at 5:58. How long will it take for the delivery man to leave?
Did I not have enough excitement in my day? It was very productive! And tomorrow we get to see Charlie again at a sonogram appointment! I can't believe we're creeping up on mid-august.
Oh wow, domino's drivers drive 9 million miles each week! That's 37.5 round trips to the moon! Makes me feel lazy! OK- what are they waiting for???

We have a low key weekend this weekend, then the craziness begins. Then I'll be in New York, then in NC, back for a couple weeks, then back to NC for my 10 year high school reunion! Then back, finish my career at Bay Area- back to NC for a wedding. Then home to nesting, resting, and trying to prepare for Charlie. Time is going to fly!
OK- going on 10 minutes and my dinner is just sitting there! I should have put on the notes that I am a hungry, pregnant woman!
Alright, I lied, it wasn't 10 minutes. "Our delivery expert, Nicolay, left the store with your order at 6:05pm. God Bless Nicolay!
I don't think ordering pizza has ever been this fun! Now to prepare a healthy salad to go along with the greasiness.
Bon Appetite!

6:32pm- pizza in hand

7:20pm: ate too much, feeling gross now! Time for a walk!

Fun Day!

2008-08-04T18:44:00.001-07:00

What a great day!
Wake up- work on a fundraiser we're involved with (more info on that later).
Jason talks me into taking him out for breakfast so I suggest a new (to us) place.
Head out to Grumps on Forest Dr- it was awesome! We loved it! Looking forward to going back for burgers!
Did a couple errands- Jason tried to off road it in his car yesterday (well, just drove down a muddy dirt road- lots of brown on a black car) so we went to the fun car wash (the one near the harbour center with the awesome gift shop).
Had a baby appointment- yay! Saw a wonderful doctor, asked great questions, heard Charlies heartbeat- what a miracle. I'm right on target at 24.5 weeks. Made all my appointment through my due date of November 2r3d! Crazy! Time seems to be flying by!
Then we did errands- which we rarely do together, so that was fun! Drove through Davidsonville to get home- by the way of 711 where we got slurpies..... ummm!
Came home and enjoyed the backyard with the sun. Went over and enjoyed the neighbors backyard in the pool for a little while! :)
Came home and got talked into watching a dudeflick- Superbad...... sophmoric humor at it's best.
Cooked a great dinner, took a walk around the neighborhood, finished watching the movie.
Watched John & Kate Plus 8.
And now am being challenged to a game of checkers. I'm pretty sure I'll win.

Mondays are great!

tired

2008-08-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

whew- something (someone?) is wiping me out this week!

Last night was the first time (in almost 6 months, I think that's pretty good) that I sent Jason out for ice cream. My loving husband was willing and joyfully went and got it. Thanks honey!

I'm sitting at home watching all my DVR'd shows trying to get some rest. Starting to get a little boring. Now I think I'm craving a smoothie......

My girls

2008-07-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Had a fabulous weekend with my two best girlfriends Alicia and Jessica. We walked a ton- spent hours in Ikea- spent hours locked in our bedroom laughing and laughing- just the best times. I was so sad to see them leave- but so excited that they got to spend the weekend in Maryland. Love ya ladies!

Another day at the front desk!

2008-07-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!
Nothing too exciting to report- working at the front desk again so I have some time to chill in front of the computer.
Two of my best friends are coming to town late tonight, so I couldn't be happier about that. And it's funny- I hear talk in the office about a middle or high school lock in tomorrow- makes me think of the good old days at Chapel Hill Weselyan and the crazy lock ins we had there..... those days were the best.
It's crazy to think about what high school (and younger) kids are faced with today- it's a little scary to see kids not be kids.... I'm thankful to have had friends that cared about me spiritually during those times, and while we had the best times of our lives, it was never anything bad. OK, I'm a goody goody! :) But I never thought of myself that way. I pray for our little girl now- that she has protective friends and is not drawn to all the evil & sin. It's cool to think about ALL the friends that we have having babies right now- some will move away and some will stay- but these are the people that our little ones will be around. That is a cool thought. (because we're not moving anywhere! we'll be on hunting ct till we can't walk up the steps!- and then we'll put in a chair lift! :) )

Anyway, excited about the weekend!

Worst Dinner Ever!

2008-07-14T16:39:00.001-07:00

So for all the Trader Joe's shoppers out there, I don't recommend the Lightly Battered Calamari or the Coconut Shrimp (both in frozen section). I thought since these are the two things I love to get when we're eating out and I'd try to go a cheaper route and make them myself..... not such a great idea. Both of them were so nasty (granted I baked them instead of frying.....). We ended up at Denny's for dinner (in my opinion, not that much better) but Jason was happy w/ his grand slam and I was pretty much full from my 5:00 ice cream snack. :)
I'll stick to the calamari at McCormick & Shmicks & the coconut shrimp at Pussers or Yellowfin.

Hope everyone else's dinner was great!

Managed by Christ

2008-07-13T16:49:00.001-07:00

Whew, what a week. I took a long nap today and am looking forward to going back to sleep! We just had a great dinner of fried chicken, baked beans & corn on the cob...... ummm.

I was babysitting for a good friend on Friday night and ordered a pizza for dinner. I was sitting down eating and feeding the baby (messiest eater I have ever seen!) I looked over at the pizza box and it read "Your pizza order managed by christ" Now of course that was probably a Christopher or Chris T.... but this was just what I needed to see. If Jesus cares about me and my pizza, he cares about everything else in my life too! It was a very nice reminder.

I've started to feel Little C kicking around a little! It's very cool and still catches me off guard. All appointments are going well and she's just a growing! I'm growing too, starting to not fit in my regular tees....... Here is almost 22 weeks, we missed the 20 week mark.....

Another exciting week ahead..... :) It's been nice not having a lot planned and getting to hang out with good friends. :)

Working ALL day before the long weekend

2008-07-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am covering the front desk at work yesterday and today. I have completed the things that I needed to do for my work. Now what? I've chatted w/ friends on Facebook, looked through everyones pics on myspace, created baby registries at a couple of places (WAY too many options!), caught up on everyone else's blogs, read blogs of people I don't know, I took my boss to the airport, copied Jason's email addresses, paid a lot of bills, and have eaten lunch and then some. And it's not even 2pm!

We're headed to Ocean City tomorrow for a quick trip- I'm looking forward to sleeping under the umbrella. It is going to be hot. My shrinking bladder will be no fun, and getting into a bikini is a scary thought. The water is way too cold for me to get in up here- how far away are the outlets in Rehobeth? :)

It's hard to believe it's July. July isn't too booked- which is nice. August is crazy, I'll be away every weekend. Looking forward to spending time in NC- I miss it a ton.

OK, open to suggestions on what to do online. :)

Another picture of Ivan & Lucia that I have on this computer:

Our Little C

2008-07-01T15:16:00.001-07:00

Our Little C is a Little She! We had a sonogram last Thursday and Jason & his mom were with me. It was such an exciting time. The nurse didn't tell us right away, so it was fun just to be watching and seeing different parts of the baby. It really is a miracle! We saw little toes, arms, legs, the brain, eyes..... then she asked if we wanted to know- and it is a girl! I couldn't help but be SO excited. We continued to watch her, the doctor came in- everything looks great. I do go back in 6 weeks, so that will be exciting to see her getting bigger. She's a whole 9 oz. We forgot to ask how long. But the first due date of November 23rd is right on target, that didn't change at all! We went to lunch to celebrate and were just so excited. I felt that I wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while- so I wasn't on the phone right away. But it has been lots of fun to tell people and squeal! I've already gotten some girly outfits- nothing too crazy. But it is going to be a very hard 5 months without buying lots of things for her. Little Charlie. :)

For some reason today I'm feeling AWFUL- nauseas & tired.... I can feel things stretching all over, and it is not happy. I really can't complain though- I've had it pretty good so far. Today is the 20 week mark- half way!

I can't get this pic. to turn sideways, but you get the gist of it, you can see her little head! :)

On to more fun things- we had Jason's 30th b-day party on Saturday. It was a HOT day. But I didn't have to do too much running around, I knew I wouldn't be up for a lot of work. So I just ordered food and had everyone bring sides- it worked out great! We were inside till about 7 and then headed outside- cornhole was the game of choice. Jason (and I) have such good friends- most of the crowd there was from "the county" (calvert that is- what else is there!). It is just great to hang out and have fun. The rain brought everyone inside- I don't even know what time it was. Shaun & Deanna stayed the night and headed back to NC on Saturday morning- it was nice to spend time with them. I took Jason out for a birthday brunch at Boatyard in Eastport. It was pretty good! Then Monday was Jason's actual birthday and he chose Fuddruckers for dinner..... Little C likes Burgers! :) So happy 30th honey- you're old!

So this is me after the weekend- I want to do this all week:

fun weekend

2008-06-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Jason and I went to a dinner for the Mid Atlantic Cancer Support Center on Saturday night. It was very uplifting and a time to meet other cancer survivors. I shared my story with about a dozen others (on paper, not getting up and talking) and had a picture displayed. Now we have a huge picture of just me.... don't know where we'll put it. But I got to wear my fav. new dress!

Then on Sunday my Uncle Mark & Aunt Melissa were in town- a real treat to get to spend some time with them. We walked through the Naval Academy and downtown to eat at Carol's Creek. We sat outside for a few hours and got to see a lightning storm. This prevented us from taking the water taxi back, oh well. They left this morning (Monday) after breakfast & a walk to the pier. I'll be headed their way to New York in August.

I love my husband- today there was a "Taco Truck" outside our house for the construction workers. I've always wanted to get food from one of these. So he went out and made me a plate- it wasn't quite what I was expecting- a lot of meat- mostly I didn't care for it. But I was hungry and ate a big portion of it! I guess I was hoping for real mexican beans & salsa.... ummm. Mexican Cafe anyone? :)

Today is pretty chill- need a day to rest & catch up! Nap time!

My Sweet Kitty

2008-06-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

weekend

2008-06-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

So unless it's elastic, I can't fit into any clothes..... luckily I have several stretchy skirts & capris that should get me through this in-between time of too big for my regular size and not big enough for maternity. It is kinda depressing though when I can't fit pants over my hips! Oh well. I have a regular checkup tomorrow- the only thing that has really changed is getting lots of bad headaches. I know the heat isn't helping- and I'm doing very well at drinking lots and lots of water. We find out the sex on June 26th! That is just around the corner! So that is about all in babyland. Well, not really. We talked about middle names- and are liking Charlie Ann for a girl & Caleb Ivan for a boy.

I thought of Ivan a lot today. I met a new person at church today, and he just moved to the area to work in commercial diving. I assumed this had something to do with fishing (I don't know why, he would have said he was a fisherman....) so in asking more about it he said it was like construction under water. I immediatley thought of Ivan b/c this is what he really wanted to do. He even had some school in New York or New Jersey that he was researching their program in underwater welding. Not the safest of jobs, but Ivan didn't live on the safe side! Here's Ivan with Lucia, Christmas of 2005. I miss him like crazy!

What else? I took a dear friend who was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer to Relay for Life this past Friday night. It was a beautiful (HOT) day- much better than the last RFL a few weeks ago. This is the Relay that I've been going to since I've moved here, and I have to admit, it was SO nice to just go and enjoy it instead of planning and preparing and working for months and months ahead of time. It was good to catch up with people I've worked with in the past- lots of fun telling them about being pregnant! I think that Barb really enjoyed the experience. It's not often that you can be with hundreds of other people that you don't know and feel so connceted to everyone. Once cancer invades your life it leaves a mark. And even though every situation is different, we all had that common factor. Barb's husband died of cancer 8 years ago, so we made some luminary bags for him and took the time to honor his memory.

Barb & I had fun walking around to all the tents & we found lots of fun things to wear!
One cool thing about the night is that I saw my oncologist there! The doctors and nurses from my clinic formed a team and were out walking! I think it's great that they care about their patients like that- and that they can see people in an uplifting environment- not just the chemo room!

And this is my dear friend Brittany- I walked with her in her first survivors lap in 2005! Brittany just got married last weekend so it was fun to see her after her big day. Brittany had (and still gets checked all the time) for melanoma. She was Miss Maryland in 2006 and has done a tremendous job on advocating against tanning salons- the source of her cancer.

I'm looking forward to a fun week- nothing too exciting. Have to say goodbye to a dear co-worker Taegan! It was exciting to see the Richmond Church Plant team gear up for the big move. I'm pumped for them- I can't imagine how they feel!

THANK GOD it's the last week of the NBA finals- I've watched way more basketball than I've cared to lately.... although I do prefer basketball to football......

Jason is on the mend from strep throat, he was pretty pittiful last week- he slept just about as much as I have been sleeping! Oh yeah, this second trimester burst of energy? I'm ready for it anytime!

dreams

2008-05-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

I had a dream that my mom and I were shopping for maternity clothes. It was great- she said all her normal things like..... "make sure it's 100% cotton, you don't want to be wearing polyester in the summer," "you may want that, but do you really need it?", "you don't want the material pulling in certain places", "when I was pregnant....."
It was a great dream to be able to see her and talk to her. I talked with my grandmother last night, and I had fun telling her about pregnancy changes. I feel close to my mom when I talk to her.
So I'm headed to target this afternoon, and all of my moms advice will be running through my head when I'm picking stuff out. Thanks Mom! :)
*I do have a couple of ancient dresses that my mom wore when she was pregnant. They do look like tents, but I'll have to give them a try :)

May 28th

2008-05-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

May 28th is a hard day..... a little harder than usual today.

It would have been my dad's birthday. I'm sad to say I'm not sure how old!!! 59 or 60?
We buried my dad this week last year.
Today Jason and I had to go to the district court because we wittnessed a drunk driver in action several months back. It was so scary that night, they crossed the median, no headlights into on coming traffic..... Today we learned that the woman was very drunk and had taken lots of sleeping medication. When she was pulled over she had no idea where she was and had on no pants..... Her lawyer kept referring to her medical condition, and the judge was like, you don't drink when you take sleeping pills, that is just common sense....
It was just really hard to sit there and not think of my family. The cause of their accident was not drunk driving, but it was partly reckless driving. It is an absolute miracle that this woman did not hurt herself or anyone else. Jason spoke up saying that all the details of our recorded phone call to 911 were correct, and it was a very scary thing to wittness. I had to hold back because I wanted to express how reckless driving has traumatized our family- and that even just one time it can ruin lives.
The woman didn't seem to get much penalty- revoked lisence for 60 days and "unsupervised probation" for a year..... for something that serious it seems like there should have been more.

It was an awkward day.

highlight of the year?

2008-05-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

Maybe! We saw Dierks Bentley on Saturday night, and it was the best night ever! Our day started great with a couple different cookouts in Calvert Co. Then down to Solomon's Island. We did some fun people watching before the concert.

So yes, I am a big dork & a member of the Dierks fan club..... but it allowed me to have a meet & greet pass- which I've done before. But now he's a much bigger artist, so it's not like I can hang around after the concert for a picture..... anyway, there were about a dozen of us or so that were fan club members and we got to spend at least 30 minutes hanging out with Dierks taking pictures and asking questions. It was really awesome. The best thing- he totally remembered me!!!! Seriously. I went up and said hi I'm Sylvia..... then he said- wait- you've been coming out since the beginning haven't you! YES!!!! I reminded him that I went to about every single show in North Carolina and then some! He really did remember! That was incredible!

Anyway, the opening band was terrible. Our seats weren't as good as I thought they'd be- but they were good. One cool thing was that there was a short line where they let people go right in front of the stage for a song- so I went to do that. It was an emotional song too, called Long Trip Alone- makes me think of my family. And I know I sound like such a dork, but when I was in that pit- Dierks saw me and smiled! yay!

Then I went back to my loving and wonderful husband! :) We cuddled when he sang "My Last Name" b/c that was our first dance at our wedding! Dierks sang so many good songs, did a bluegrass set- it was SO good. If it had been 3 years ago I would have been at the next show the next night in Maryland (Cumberland) but believe it or not, I'm not the super fan that I once was- although you probably can't tell if you're reading this! :)

Anyone who wants a cd- I'll make you one! He's a great musician!

Yay!

These are just a few of the times I saw Dierks in 04/05. He always remembered that I had a different hair color.....(after chemo). And these are just some of them! :)

Weekly Happenings

2008-05-19T16:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy busy few days- starting off last week with a terrible cold. I made myself stay home from work one day last week, but it didn't do much. I went to the doctor to rule out strep throat, luckily I didn't have it. But I might as well have- b/c I felt awful! Just now starting to feel a little better!

Friday night was Relay for Life at AACC. I was so excited to take my friend Shannon. We got there and it was FREEZING! Luckily Jason hadn't left the house, so he brought us some warmer clothes. But dang it was cold! I hadn't been to this particular event site, so it was fun to just show up and take part in the festivities (instead of being on the comittee & planning, planning, planning.....). I was so proud to walk with Shannon in the survivors lap- and I could tell that being part of something within such a large cancer community was very special to her. Since it was so cold & windy out (not helping my stuffy nose & sore throat!) we left before the luminary ceremony- but we found Shannon's bag so that she could take it home & light it. We may do the Edgewater RFL together since it will be warmer (on June 6th).

This is Shannon & me in the survivors lap! Whoo-hoo!

Saturday we were up bright & early to continue to prepare for Jason's Client Appreciation Party that we held at our home on Satuday night. Thank GOD the weather held up- it was warm and perfect out. We had been preparing for weeks and Saturday I started out with Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloins, about 8 of them..... thank goodness for my double oven! The day went by so fast & there was so much to do, but somehow we pulled it off! We also made & served crab dip, tortellini kebobs, veggies, & probably the highlight was the chocolate fountain..... ummm! It was so good w/ the fruits & sweets, but man did it make a mess. Since it was windy the chocolate was literally flying around- gross! But people liked it, and I had a plastic table cloth, so I really didn't care! :)

This is our backyard while we were getting set up. The lanterns were beautiful during the day & at night- and once the flowers were on the table- it was wonderful! The night time photos just didn't capture the mood. Thanks for everyone who came- it was so great to see you all! :)
One fun part about the night was I wore my first maternity dress! It was so pretty & showed my little baby bump!

Sunday the kitchen was a DISASTER and it stayed that way! I had to work all morning at church and I was so worn out and tired, we just crashed.

OK- a few more dishes to take care of..... yay.

Highlights

2008-05-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started off being a great day despite the weather.
We heard our baby's heartbeat! We saw it several weeks ago at an ultrasound- but to hear it again being a few weeks further along. It was really fast, and once the dr. pointed it out, all I could do was laugh! It was great!
The second highlight of the day was getting the LAST chicken biscut at chick-fil-a. It was after 10:30 (barley, like 10:35), and everyone around us was ordering lunch. All I wanted all morning was that chicken biscut, so when she said there was one more- I was very excited!

A lowlight- well, the concert I went to Sunday night was INCREDIBLE. I loved it. I'm used to seeing Jump Little Children with hundreds of other people- and at this small little bar in Arlington, there were like 20 people to see Jay Clifford. It was so good. He sang new songs, and JLC songs. I was recording songs w/ my camera- my fav. mexico & a couple of others. I went to download them yesterday, and the sound was not turned on on the camera. I was so sad! Oh well. It's one of those experiences I'll just have to remember.

it's only been two months!

2008-05-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

SO.... I love reading other people's blogs- mine is totally boring! So today I'm going to do lots of updating- with pictures! :)

The sun is finally shining- although that will probably change in 5 minutes. I have to say one of my favorite things about spring is not having the heat or AC running- our electric bill was 1/3 of what is normally is! (yes- the fact that I get excited about this proves that I am a Burger!)

Speaking of Burgers..... about a month ago in April I went down to NC for a "Memorial Lecture" at NC State University in honor of my dad. The college of design wants to make this an annual event for students, faculty, alumni & members of the professional landscape architecture community. It was very special knowing that people were gathering in honor of my dad to learn and grow in their profession. I'm looking forward to next years event!

Julia made up a really wonderful DVD of a journal & pictures of their trip from 1976. My parents & Julia and Jeremy took a 3 month camping trip around the country. One of the most interesting things was how much everything cost- for three months- 14,000 miles- the total gas bill was $278!

So here is Charley at 26-27 years old?

On the subject of lectures, I am reading the most incredible book- I recommend it to anyone. This man is dying of pancreatic cancer- but his wisdom and outlook on life is just incredible:

Jason and I are spending lots of time outside- walks around the neighborhood and hanging out in the yard. Our kitty loves to sniff outside and lay in the sunshine. Jason could use prayers as usual for his back pain- it seems to be getting worse and affecting other parts of his body- I know it is very frustrating for him. He's used to a managable level of pain- but lately it has been really bad. His work is going well- which we are very thankful for. We're hosting our first client appreciation party at our house next weekend and that should be fun, but a ton of work.

We're doing Relay for Life next weekend at Anne Arundel Community College. I don't know how to make links yet..... but it should be an awesome night. I'm taking my friend Shannon for the first time- she was diagnosed almost a year ago with a rare form of some kind of lymphoma, not even sure exactly what it was, but it was bad. Her progress has been a miracle- and I went with her to the doctor a couple of weeks ago- we celebrated her high school graduation with the nurses & doctors. Shannon just won prom queen too at her high school. I can't wait to walk the survivors lap with her!

So tomorrow is Mother's Day- and it will be a great day, and a sad day. Sad b/c I miss my mom SO much- all the time. Happy b/c I'm pregnant, and preparing for motherhood myself! I'll have to start my baby blogging soon! :) Soon enough! But it should be a fun day- church, then going to a cookout with new moms & another soon to be mom from church, Jason's family over at our house, and then to see one of my FAVORITE singers, Jay Clifford. (Gray's Anatomy fans- one of his songs was on the show last week- it was a very nice suprise!) So I think I'll have enough distractions not to be too sad. Here is my mom and me somewhere, not exactly sure where! And then my little baby bump- not one really yet, and I think I had just eaten so feeling more bloated than anything! :)

The first prego shot- maybe at 7-8 weeks, number two at 12 weeks! :)

I haven't gotten to the "crazy cleaning" stage yet- it's coming though. Here is my closet that is in desperate need of attention. It's in between summer/winter clothes, but then most of my summer things I will not be fitting into after too long, so what to do? I'm fine with it being a pigsty for now! (My mother would not be proud!)

And while we're in my room- here is the goal board that I made several months ago- it turned more into a prayer/thankful board- my parents devotion and love for one another encourages me in my marriage. My cancer journey reminds me that my life is such a gift, and my ability to create new life is truly a miracle. An angel picture to remind me of all the angels in my life and inspires me to help others. A baby crib! This was before I found out about our pregnancy- so that continues to be a huge focal point in our prayer life. And Jason and my journey together- a great picture from our wedding day. It's nice to wake up to those thoughts every morning.

OK- I think this a pretty good update! :) I think we're off to a birthday party- or we may just stay home and watch a movie- that sounds better to me! :)

Plugging Along

2008-03-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing too new with us Donovans lately- which is perfectly ok with me! We've just been working hard, hanging out together at night and on the weekends. I've made it a goal to go through all the drawers, cabinets, closet space, garage.... and clean out and de-clutter. I've thrown away lots of college work, have bags of clothes to donate, and getting rid of lots of junk. I've put the construction dumpsters to good use.

I have found cute pictures of Ivan- one of him at about 8 years old maybe- with balloons in his shirt to look like boobs- it is pretty funny. One that I love is of him in Lucia's room- with the heart that he hung outside her window. I have a letter that he wrote to our nana about how he constructed a 6 foot white circle, with a 5 foot red heart attatched to it. He climbed a tree like 40 feet to hang this outside of her room. It is so precious.
I've found letters and cards that my parents sent over the years- all with quirky comments about where they had lunch or dinner, and how much it cost!

The other day I was in TJ Maxx- I looked up at a woman and it looked JUST like my mom. It looked exactly like her, and I could not stop looking! She had on a bucket hat, glasses like my moms, a sweater that she would have worn, a laynard with her keys on it...... I just started to cry right there, and anyone who would have seen me must have thought I was crazy. I thought about saying hello, but decided not to, b/c I didn't want to have to explain myself. It was all very very odd. It makes me think about what I could say if my mom were right there in front of me- like she had never left. I'd like to think that we'd have a big hug, she'd ask me how my health was, and things would be "normal." I'm so thankful that there weren't unresolved issues with my family, things that I wish I could have taken back. Of course there are many more things I would have liked to have done with them- but no regrets.

Tomorrow Ivan would have turned 22. When I see other young men around that age, I do get sad. I think about the things that he would have done, and the people who he'd be hanging out with. I haven't talked to Lucia in quite some time- she and my other brother Jeremy are a lot closer- but I hope that her heart has begun to heal. She lost something completely different than any of us- and I have no idea what she has gone through.

roses from jason! :)

2008-02-15T07:22:00.001-08:00

So my husband DOES pay attention in small group! A few weeks ago I shared how I'd love to get white roses b/c of the painting I recieved- and earlier in the week I got a bouquet of them at work! They're gorgeous. Thanks honey :)

So yesterday, Valentines Day I was getting some cheese dip, ummmm! for our small group party at Whole Foods. I have never in my life seen so many men buying flowers, candy, steaks...... it was really something.
I'm not opposed to getting flowers or gifts of any sort! But I think that people should honor and give to their spouses on a regular basis- not just a day that Hallmark makes a ton of money. I thought about how there are things that I could do more for Jason- and I will try to keep it up! :)

Anyway, had to share about the white roses. :)

family

2008-02-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'm reading the cutest book called Cold Tangerines- it's a collection of short stories about a girl and growing up and her family. After I read this I had to share:

Family gets made when you decide to hold hands and sit shoulder to shoulder when it seems like the sky is falling. Family gets made when the world becomes strange and disorienting, and the only face you recognize is his. Family gets made when the future obscures itself like a solar eclipse, and in the intervening darkness, you decide that no matter what happens in the night, you'll face it as one.

Now the author (shauna niequest) was specifically refering to her husband for this. And I agree- Jason is my number one go to person- and I am so thankful for him and everything he does for me.

In losing such a large part of my family- I've discovered that I have SO many people in my life that are as close as family- not wanting to replace the title of mom, dad, and little brother- but family in the sense that they'd do anything, talk at anytime, and support me through the hard things of this life.

Makes me thankful to be part of an even larger family- to be a child of God- to depend on Jesus more than a mother or father.

Anyway, thanks to all of my family- I love you all tons.

Roses from Ivan

2008-02-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

This painting was given to me by Ivan's girlfriends family for Christmas this year. It is beautiful and I plan to hang it over our bed. The artists name is Igor Levashov. Now whenever I see white roses I'll think of Ivan and how precious he was. I miss him a lot.

kleenex

2008-01-29T08:09:00.001-08:00

I'm so thankful for puffs with lotion.

I've been on the couch with a nasty cold for the past few days and have gone through a couple of boxes....

I also made the mistake of watching a Hallmark Movie.... should have known! It was called the Russell Girl- and I knew she would get cancer- but it also showed how she was a part of an accident that caused a little girl to die... it was awful! I was just thinking about death, and family, and cancer, and being scared, and depending on my family...... whew! It just makes me so thankful that I had such an incredible experience while I was in treatment.

Anyway, no more hallmark movies (yeah right, no matter how sad they make me, I'm always drawn to them!). Back to the couch- I got sucked in to the million dollar matchmaker show.... what trash- but I love it! :)

A little less sleep

2008-01-19T13:22:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Friday the 18th a civil lawsuit was prepared for our family's accident.
My sister called and told us it would be on the news, and it was in the paper. I watched the clip online, and it was weird seeing pictures of my parents and Ivan up- and hearing again- how the conditions of the roads could have been fixed- and maybe none of this would have happened.
I had a hard time sleeping last night thinking about everything. Who knows when the actual trial will start, but it will. No need to get anxious about it though, right? A little easier said than done! But it is a long ways off probably.
Anyway, I still haven't really processed all of my feelings, but here are the related articles:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2325193/

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/890506.html

Bay Area Service from 1-6-08

2008-01-19T13:19:00.001-08:00

Hey Friends-

So on January 6th I shared my stories with the entire church! It was an honor to be able to share God's love through my experiences. It makes me even more aware of His power in my life and how I'm so thankful I have a God who is BIGGER than anything I can imagine.
Anyway, here is the link- it is only audio- and the sermon title is called Your Heavenly Father Knows by Casely Essamuah (Casely is one of the pastors and he is from Ghana- I love listening to him talk! He has a lot of great stuff to say!)

http://www.bayareacc.org/Resources/SermonArchives.aspx#

That name again is....

2008-01-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

Mr. Plow!

At work yesterday it was snowing- beautiful big snowflakes- and I had a nice time just watching it. Then I saw a salt truck go by- and the FIRST thing that entered my head was Homer Simpson singing about being Mr. Plow. Thanks dad!
And sure enough, I come home to go through the music downloads- and Mr. Plow is something my dad indeed downloaded! "Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again is Mr. Plow."
(and the next thing on the list is Homer singing "Nacho Man...."

OK, if someone can help me figure out how to upload a sound clip I can share with everyone! :)

Christmas Day, 2007

2008-01-03T13:37:00.001-08:00

So Christmas has come and gone, and I have slowed down enough to think about how I've felt through the past few weeks and will try to make some sense out of it! :)

For the past holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, I worked myself up over how they were coming up, and what I'd do when the day came. For Christmas I tried really hard not to do that. At first I thought I wouldn't want anything to do with Christmas, no tree, no presents, but decided that wasn't the way to go. I thought about going away and being somewhere different and quiet, but that never came about either. The weeks prior to Christmas were really good. Jason and I spent quality time with friends and each other- we did host a lot for football games and movie nights. I was feeling really good.
Christmas day came, and it was awful! I mean, it was really hard. (But I'm glad I didn't spend weeks worrying about it first!). Just remembering the year before, not having any idea how traumatic the day would become- I spent a lot of the day in bed. Jason went to hang out with his brothers and his dad in the morning while I slept. Early afternoon his mother, grandmother and brothers came back to our home to open presents. I felt so lonely and sad the whole day. Jason's family is wonderful and they were being very nice and didn't want to bring up anything that would upset me. But the fact that no one asked me how I was feeling or pointing out why they day was so hard made it even harder. I guess I should have brought it up and said that I would have really liked to talk about my family. But I didn't. At 12:30, the time around which the accident happened, I was alone in bed- praying that some of the sting be taken away. I kept thinking, if my family were here, it would be different. We'd be able to feel and know each others pain and get through it together. Everyone left and Jason and I had more time together. I know how hard it must be for him- I don't know what I want, good for him for trying to figure it out! Later that night he went to another relatives house- one that I just can't go to, because that is where I got the phone call from the hospital, saying come now. I watch a movie (a bad one....) and talked to a few people on the phone.
I didn't know it would be so difficult that one day, especially since I had so many good days leading up to it.
Wednesday my sister and her family got to town, and Thursday my brother and his wife came. It was really good to see them and spend time- but the void that I felt Christmas day was not filled by them, as I had hoped it would be. We didn't spend a lot of time sharing memories- well, we did in a way, but not like I thought we would. It was hard to make sure everyone was happy and entertained and by this time I was so tired! We got lost in the ghetto of DC with an empty tank of gas, after walking in the cold around the monuments for 3 hours..... my best friend was also in town staying with us, and her roomate was highly allergic to cats and could only sit at the kitchen table.......

I'll stop complaining, because it was a very good weekend- just really hard.

I'm coming into this new year sad- everyday the reality of the accident becomes more real- and it is very hard.

Christmas Day Prayer

2007-12-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

This came today from my Aunt Liz, one of my dad's sisters:

A Time to Remember:
Since we will be geographically dispersed on Christmas day, we want to share with you that at 12:38 pm on Christmas day we will stop and have a moment of silence to remember Barbara Charley and Ivan. We will light three candles for them and recite a few prayers. Though we miss them so, let us be strong in our faith, our love for each other and remember the wonderful gift of having the love and friendship of dear Barbara, Charley and Ivan.

Prayer for the Departed Souls of Barbara, Charley and Ivan

We are stricken with immense grief at the loss of Barbara, Charley and Ivan. We pray to God Almighty for their souls and we especially express our condolences and prayers to Julia, Jeremy and Sylvia. Let the Almighty Lord send His heavenly angels to comfort them and all in the Burger and Sheremeta families. The loss is so great for us but let us abide to the great purpose God has destined for them in the heavenly garden. Today, let us remember the departed souls of Barbara, Charley and Ivan, our brother, sister, mother, father, son and daughter, and let our prayers strengthen the family.
The Twenty Third Psalm
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green Pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake,
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Prayer For The Dead
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Amen.
Irish blessing on the dead
May they rest in the company of the saints,and their sons and daughters with them.
--Irish blessing
Leaba imeasc na naomh go raibh acuagus ag an chlann mac is iníon atá leo.

This is some of my dad's family in New Rochelle- Nana, Joan, Liz, me, & John.

Red Coat

2007-12-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was shopping and saw a red pea coat and had to get it. My mom always wore a red coat, and this somehow makes me feel close to her. :)

Christmas Vacation

2007-12-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Oh my family took joys out of the little things in life.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation being one of them.

My husband Jason loves this movie and asked if it would bother me if we watched it. I said no, and as soon as the music came on- it took me back to my living room in Hillsborough.
I could just hear my dad laugh at all the same moments, slapping his knee, and then start to cough because he was laughing so hard. Whew.

He'd laugh whenever cousin Eddie said anything, whenever Clark did something stupid (when didn't that happen!) and pretty much through the whole movie.
If you knew my parents, you know that they could watch the same movie over and over- this was one of them!

Later that night Jason and I were talking- and watching this movie was his last memory of spending time with them. We were home for Thanksgiving and we decided to stay and watch a little bit of Christmas Vacation before hitting the road :)

So next time you watch Clark Griswald, give a big old laugh for Charley :)

Gas Money

2007-12-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

I was excited to give someone "gas money" today as they left for a trip.

Whenever I'd head out on the road back to school, or even up to visit Jason, my dad always gave me gas money. :) Sometimes it was my mom making him give it to me:

Dad: here you go (a couple bucks)

Mom: Charles- give her more!

Dad: 20 Dollars? (anyone who knows my dads voice I'm sure can hear the way he'd say it!)

Mom: Charles!

Dad: ok, ok.....
So this is when I made the final move to Maryland. It was Kitty and me for 5 hours! I knew my parents were really happy for me that day! :)

I really would use the money for gas- although I remember when gas was .87 cents and you could get gas and snacks!

Christmas presents with no labels!

2007-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

I was wrapping a few Christmas presents this weekend and didn't have any gift tags or a pen nearby. This made me think about how my mom NEVER labeled presents. It was always "let me see it for a minute" before handing them out. Sometimes someone would start to open a gift and mom would say, oops, that isn't for you! and then hand a half opened present to the person it was intended for.

So this year I will see if I can remember what things are for whom! I only have one kind of wrapping paper so far, so we'll see how it goes. :)

Christmas, 2005- Dad with Boris.

Another thing about Christmas presents, and presents in general. I love keeping the wrapping paper on the floor (like in the above picture.) I like the mess that it makes! It always makes me sad when I'm at a party or shower and the wrapping paper goes straight to a garbage bag. That is no fun! I guess if I'm not the one cleaning up it makes sense- but even if it was my job to clean up- I'd leave the ribbons and the wrappers out for a while.

This makes me think of how my mom used the wrapping paper from gifts one year to decorate with at the dining room table. We had a table that had a piece of glass over the wood. Mom took the pretty paper and made a collage underneath the glass. She'd make sure to put who things were to and from (for those of us who DID label gifts!). It was a nice way to remember each other and keep the season alive for a while. :)

Last Thanksgiving

2007-11-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

November of 2006 was the last time that our family was all together. It's funny- whenever I would go home to visit I was always running around from here to there trying to see all my friends and go out. That weekend Jason and I stayed close to home the whole time. We had lots of walks at ayr mount w/ dad, mom and I had our shopping trips to wal-mart and the dollar tree :) And one night we looked at their photo album from the three week vacation that they had just taken. Mom told us all about how much the hotel rooms were...... all the great (and not so great) meals they had, and the perfect trip to up mount washington at peak colors.

And Ivan took Jason and me to his girlfriends house- where he had spent a lot of time. Showed us the heart that he hung 50ft high on a tree outside her bedroom window, showed us the platform he built in a field to hang out at, and just was showing us around. It was fun.

I'm thankful for that weekend- for the time that we all spent together.

As the holidays approach I am scared- scared of all the feelings that will flood back, and the constant reminder of Christmas Day and the accident. I feel like I'm at a different place in my grieving process. It is getting harder, not only b/c of the holidays, but it is becoming more of a reality- that they really died. Crazy!

I can't stand people asking if I'm ready for the holidays, and if I'll see my family. For people who don't know me well, it's hard to smile and say great, fine- but I know I can't go into detail about why my answers may be short.

Anyway, I'm praying for good days ahead- for wonderful reminders of my family- and how I can share the love that I've recieved from them and pass it along to others.

Here are a few photos from last Thanksgiving in Hillsborough :)

family get togethers

2007-11-04T08:39:00.001-08:00

OLD family picture! 1994/95?

A little more recent, and Dad's ordination in 2005.

I spent yesterday with a great family while Jason and I hosted a housewarming party. The home was full of brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, grandchildren, moms, dads........

It was really nice to be around a family who loved being with each other and supported one another.

My family had moved towards that in the past few years- not that we didn't enjoy being around each other before that- but once we all got older it was different. I miss that!

meet the fam.

2007-10-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

And this is my older brother Jeremy & sister Julia with Ivan last year. They both live in NC still. (I didn't know how to get this picture on the bottom. first time blogger!)

This is Ivan Burger- working on something as usual!

My Dad, Charles Burger- always a bright smile.

And Mom, Barbara Burger, probably being taken to or being brought home from work!

(My dad took my mom to work EVERY morning (only 2 miles away...) then he went swimming, then to work- and picked her up everyday too! I always enjoyed the times that I was home from school, or visiting from MD and would suprise mom and get her instead of my dad. But then I usually wanted to go shopping (wal-mart- hillsborough's finest!).

I finally started one!

2007-10-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

So I am entering the blog world. whoo-hoo!

I have been wanting to keep a journal for a long time, but am really lazy, so even though this isn't as personal, it may be a little easier to keep up with things.

I really want this to be a blog about my family. I lost my mom, dad, and little brother to a car accident that happened almost one year ago on Christmas Day. I've been going though A LOT of emotions- good, bad, sad, lonely, tired, loved, supported..... and a whole lot more.

My older brother and sister and I were together this weekend, and just remembering some funny stuff. I want this page to be about the stories and quirks that my family had growing up. I want to put up pictures and then talk about the times in them. And my memories may spark other's memories of the same thing!

Tough times- but trying to hold my head up high, and let my parent's & Ivan's lights shine through my life :)