It's been a

LONG time! Gosh, I have so much catching up to do, even from this past Christmas. I am so at a loss on where to start or even what to even post. We've been having a great summer already and we are just one week in. I've been having issues with blogging, it is just a beating on my computer, I forgot my password, I've changed my email address but can't change it on the blogger. I guess I just gave up. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do and how. I'll get it all rolling again soon. I promise. I have so great photos to post and I want to share my beautiful children with you. So I'll get the ball rolling again, soon!!

Who You'd Be Today

Today, 20 years ago, my amazing 17 year old brother Michael died of an enlarged heart. And for some reason it is just as fresh 20 years later as if it was the day after. I woke up knowing this day wasn't going to be easy, but in years past I would get through the day with only a few tears. But for some reason I can't even catch my breath. I don't know if its because I am an adult with two small children and a wonderful husband. Wondering what I would do if I lost one of them. The pain my father and mother has felt for 20 years, that is just jarring to me. The simple pain I feel is NOTING compared to what they feel daily.

I can replay the morning/day in my head like it just happened. I was 14 and I was a child. I was thrown into a world of major pain. I'm so very thankful for the community we lived in. I could have grown up to become a horrible kid, but with the help and constant support and protection of the ones around me. I am who I am today. My mother, the basket case that she is, really did take great care of my sister and I. She let us cry and sometimes made us cry (when she cried, which was A LOT!) But that was good. Losing Michael was awful, just horrible, something no family should ever have to deal with. And there are no buts. I'm not glad he went like he did, I'm not glad he went at all. I'm still pissed that he is gone. I'm still mad as hell that God took him from ME! My Mom and Dad, My sister. We had NO warning. He was just gone.

Michael didn't get to go to prom, graduation, go on vacation with us, start a career, fall in love, find out his wife is having a baby, have more babies, name his children, spend time with our grandparents, go on family vacations, do so many other selfish things: like meet my husband and approve of him, find out I'm having a baby and celebrate with my family and extended family. I miss my brother when we all get together as a family to celebrate birthdays or holidays or just get together. He is missing.

I am glad that both my sister and I were able to carry Michael's name on with our son's. We both named our boys after our brother. She named her first born Michael Oran and I named my son Cooper Michael. So we kept his name going. I'm going to encourage my kids to both keep the name going as well when the think of naming their kids or even pets. Johnston would be a good pet name. Or John as a little boy, but Dale not so much.

So with this all said. I do wonder who would Michael be today? Where would he work? Who would he be married to? How many children would he have and what would he have named them? Where would he have lived? What would he drive? I have so many, 'what if's', but I guess they are just silly, never to be answered questions. And until I meet him in heaven again, I'll be fine with that. But I do know he'd be one amazing man would is still loved by his family.

I love you brother and I miss you.

Winter Wonderland Day 2

We started out our morning with heart shaped pancakes. Three different sizes, they turned our very cute!

This is what we woke up to... our front yard. Breathtaking!


across the street, even the street was covered.





our backyard!

It's Snowing!! Real Snow! Part 1

Bella is completely wet from all the snow!

Cooper's bottom is completely wet, too!
Catching snowflakes, yummy!
Mommy's snow angel!
Bella's snowball, kinda big!
morning snowball fight!!
snowball fight!
snowball fight!!
snowball fight!
beautiful tree in front yard
Bella's snow angel.
Cooper's funny face.
Cooper's first few minutes in the snow, he loves it!
Where did Cooper's boots go?
Bella's snow angel in the backyard!
I may have posted the same photos in the two post, but you get the idea. We had a great time. The kids woke up and we had tons of snow on the ground, Bella wanted to go play right away! So we bundled them up and sent them out to play for Cooper's first time ever!! Ton's of fun! Then after preschool we went back out before our nap. Bella wanted to go out front, so be played and were dripping wet when we came inside about 30 minutes later. I'm so glad we are all 'well' right now, so we could enjoy the beautiful snow. I just hope it's still around a little while tomorrow, daddy gets to work from home, so we can play in the morning again.

It's Snowing!! Real Snow! Part 2

Our House

Brian making a snowball!!

Bella throwing a snowball at daddy, nailed him!
mommy and bella! I was still in my pj's!
Sweet Cooper, love his face!! Crusty nose and winter cheeks!
deep snow
loving it


look at all the snow still falling... and where are his feet, so deep!
all done, ready to go inside. He's dripping wet!
Bella, so beautiful!
Bella laying down in the snow and
Cooper looking at her like she's crazy
Bella still laying down, just a few feet away.

These photos were taken at two different times. The ones in the backyard were at 8am and the ones in the front yard were after 2pm. We had such a wonderful day! Enjoy!

I'M BACK!!!

Oh My Gosh! I have been away from blogging for so long I had to make a list of what I wanted to blog over the past 2+ months. It is a very, very long list, I have so much to say and post. Tons and tons of photos to share. So here it goes... Enjoy!

I have changed the dates on some of my new post, I actually posted them in the month they were in. So you'll have to look in November, December and January to see all the new post.

Patti and Jene had their annual Christmas party and we took the kids. Patti is a grandmother now and really does enjoy my children. Otherwise, I would have left them at home with a babysitter. Patti really knows how to have a nice, relaxing party and she has such beautiful friends!

This is our beautiful friend Jennifer Monda!

When I'm more mature, I want to look as hot as Jen does!!

Cooper Loves Patti's dogs!

Patti & the girls! and Cooper

Cookie Exchange

The teacher's appreciation committee I'm in this year at the kids preschool had it's annual cookie exchange. It was great! The cookies were beautiful, the boxes the teachers put the cookies in (see in photo below, red box with white poka dots with green/red tissue paper). The whole process was great. This was our second 'event' to do and we kinda knew what to do. The teachers were all so happy with the variety of cookies and they loved the box to put them in. The next event is February. Some sort of lunch. Soup/Salad, something easy. Then it will be on to the week in April where we have to do a ton of work. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to that one.

This was a pretzel stick dipped in white chocolate & crushed peppermint
I want to do this for Christmas. Looks soooo easy!!

Here is another one with just sprinkles on it. Again, easy!!

And last easy one, kiss in the middle and M&M in the middle... should be real simple.

The other side view of the table. It was real, real hard not to try one of each kind. It smelled so good. Just like Christmas cookies!! Yummy!

Bella's Classroom Christmas Tree

Bella was asked to decorate a Christmas tree for her classroom for the Christmas season. I let her choose from a few things we could do. She wanted to put her name on it with stickers. I wanted her a photo of her on it and she wanted to put some left over stones/jewels on it to make it pretty. I had the hot glue gun out, so she told me where to put the jewels. She wanted to put her name on the tree with stickers we had just got. That was fine, but she started putting letters on the tree, just so happened to be where I couldn't get them off so we had to make it work. The last 'a' in her name she put on the tree and I worked backward from there, it looks like a 3 year old did it, right? She was so much fun to do this activity with. I just hope she has more skills than I do in the crafty department.

Our finished product.