I'm Illin'

UGH. That's exactly how I feel. I got this lovely cold yesterday morning & felt like hell by last night. Sleep? What's that? So I'm a little fuzzy, forgive the poor pregnant lady with the sniffles.

It's been a crazy busy 2 weeks. My brother was home from Iraq & my sister made it home from Hawaii so we were all here enjoying some family time. It's usually a whirlwind of activity when my brother is home anyway but with my sister relocated to Hawaii we had a houseful. And I loved it. There is nothing like having them both home & being able to spend time with my brother is always the best. Hated to see him go back to that hell hole but the good thing is we're at the halfway point. 6 more months & hopefully he'll be home. The kids always have a blast when he's here. He is really a great uncle, always willing to take them outside to play or take them to grab a bite to eat. And Vinnie absolutely worships him.

So they both went to their respective areas on Wednesday morning. My brother back to Iraq, my sister back to Hawaii. And while my house is by no means quiet, it is definitely a different vibe here since they left. Of course, I'm worried about my brother going back to Iraq considering it's getting bad there again. Bad or good, it doesn't ease my mind with him being in a region where a majority of the people hate Americans. And having my sister here gave us time to spend some time together & talk about things we've never discussed before. And it made me realize how much I value having my family around me. We're a small one so it makes a difference.

OK So, Nancie, Corinne & I went on our lovely retreat to Aptos with Scrappin' By the Sea. Amazing. It was so much fun & I am looking forward to going again later this year. Wanna check it out? Go to ScrappingByTheSea.COM. Tiffany is the owner & she was a sweetheart. The accomodations were comfortable, we had a couple of classes & there were drawings through the entire weekend. And the food was amazing. Just a great little getaway.

Here's us the first night there. Everyone attending was super nice & very talented. And I even managed to get a bunch of pages done so that made it even better. Lord knows with the thousands of pictures I have, every little dent in it helps.

I also got to have a mini-shoot with those adorable Gilmore kids. I seem to forget that my children aren't the only adorable ones in the world. DJ is such a little charmer & that sweet Gracie has such an amazing, outgoing personality. How precious is this?

So stinkin' cute. I am still getting used to this fancy schmancy camera but I love it. The results I've gotten are fantastic & I am sooooo loving it.

OK, gonna go try to lay down & pray for this cold to go away. Have a great week & I swear, I will try to post more!

Happy New Year!

No, I didn't get Patrick for Christmas but he's just so darn pretty I had to put him on here. No offense Jim. But a girl can dream right?

So welcome 2007, good-bye 2006. How did that year fly by so fast? Amazing but maybe it's just age that makes the years go by so quickly. We are looking forward to having a happy & prosperous year & I hope everyone else is as well.

The year is starting off great so far with news that my brother will be home for 2 weeks. He will be here sometime on Monday & we are all excited & can't wait to see him. He sounds well & anxious to get out of Iraq. With recent events it has been crazy there & I think he is just looking to get the hell out of there even if it is for just 2 weeks. Couldn't ask for a better way to start the new year.

Life is moving along as usual. Kids are back in school & I am trying to get back into my routine. Growing bigger by the minute (literally) & feeling more & more pregnant as the days go by. Luckily things are still going very smoothly & hoping they stay that way.

I did receive a lovely present from F & J, Nancie & I got to go to see Dancing with the Stars in San Jose & it was amazing! Loved it & unbeknown st to Jim, we are taking dancing lessons as soon as I have these twins. It was a fabulous show & got me all geared up to take some classes. Won't he be surprised?

Kids had a great Christmas & it is always such a joy to see their little faces light up on Christmas morning. That makes Christmas that much more enjoyable. I know if I didn't have them, I'd probably just sleep in & laze around all day. But I love the anticipation of seeing their faces when they wake up & see that Santa has been here. If your kids are like mine, they are obsessed with the vacuum cleaner. I have no idea why but if I pull out that vacuum they are fighting over who is going to vacuum. Needless to say, I let them fight it out. So Gavin was very excited to see that Santa brought him his very own Dirt Devil. That kid dragged that darn thing everywhere for days until we finally had to take it away & hide it in the garage. He even tried to sleep with it. Guess he'll have a future in housekeeping.

I am really loving the new camera & getting used to all it's functions. I have gotten some really cool shots but know I've been taking too many when Gavin sees it & says, No picture Mommy.' Guess he's not used to it yet. Kieran & James on the, other hand, love to ham it up. I did manage to get a few shots of them all including Vinnie being a cool big brother, kicking back with Gavin to watch some cartoons.

Yes, I have New Year's Resolutions but it's late & I will post them later. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday & has a great & prosperous New Year's. And when life gets too busy & you feel like the days are rushing by, stop & take a minute to take a deep breath & just enjoy what you have. Like these little blessings up here. They make it all worth it.