Monday, August 16, 2010

I miss you, Taffy

It's very quiet in our house today. It was quiet yesterday too. We were home. We had company, which included our three year old grandson, but it was noticeably quiet ... not counting all the sighs.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

July 13

Has it been SIX years since Presley was born?

It has. Six years ago today, Jason experienced the miracle of seeing his child for the very first time. Presley Alan Glenn arrived safe and sound.

Presley has the same middle name as his father and his grandfather.

Twenty Year Anniversary

Twenty Years ago today, my dad became sober. No one who knew him, twenty plus years ago, would've imagined that it was even possible.

He is a walking miracle, a testimony to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

Don't tell me that someone is "hopeless" or that "they will never change." I've seen it. It IS possible. With God, all things are possible!




Sunday, May 23, 2010

May 23, 2000

Ten years ago today I became a grandmother! When my daughter got to the hospital and was examined, they found the baby had turned himself upside down. She would need to have a Cesarean. This would be the first C-section in our family. I tried to encourage her that she was going to be fine and that everything was ok. I hoped my concern was not showing. Not only was she experiencing labor pain for the first time in her life, she just found out that she was going to have an operation very quickly.

I waited in the waiting room and paced the floor. Interestingly, I was actually on the outside of locked doors that opened into the surgical area for Cesareans. I was able to barely see through a crack in the doors. I watched and watched until I saw her husband appear in his hospital garb. He waved at me and then disappeared into a doorway. I pressed my ear up to that crack and waited to hear a baby cry. What seemed like an eternity later, I heard a cry.

I was full of emotion and turned to our family who was waiting with me and said, "he's here!"

Anthony Nathaniel Gonzales entered the world a healthy baby boy and his Mommy was indeed going to be fine.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

How I Knew

Reminded my husband that it was three years ago today that he was in the ER getting a sliver of metal out of his eye. He wondered how in the world I could remember the exact date ...

...BECAUSE it happened on the same day that our precious grandson, Carlos, was born! I'll never forget that day. I had been at the hospital since the night before. I was there to help Alyssa through labor and welcome her incredibly adorable baby.

After sufficient time oooing and aaahhhing over my grandson and making sure Alyssa was doing well, I headed home ...totally exhausted.

I sat down on the couch at home and sighed a big sigh (at approximately 9:00 PM) ... just before Bob told me I needed to take him to the hospital because whatever was in his eye was killing him.

Off we went to the ER waiting room. A long night, and it was May 20th by the time we got home, but the hospital records state that he was treated on May 19. How could I EVER forget that date?

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day

Last year for Mother's Day we had a brunch for the "mothers" in our family. My adult daughters, who are all mothers, did the cooking for my mother and I. We enjoyed good food and good fellowship. We "older mothers" gave the "younger mothers" some beginning supplies to scrapbook. My mother and I enjoy the hobby and try to get together to do it as often as we can. We wanted to share our passion with them. It was a wonderful day.

This year, we did something else. We ladies, all ages this time, and some of our little boys caravaned around town and went shopping together. We stopped along the way and ate lunch and drank coffee (the good cold kind : )

The kids were amazing! We had as much fun having them WITH us this year, as we did having a day WITHOUT them last year. Only a mom would understand.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Three Quarters of a Century Old

Dad turned 75 today.

He's an amazing man, not just because he is my Daddy. He started off as a tiny little premature baby. He was the first one in his large family to leave the reservation he was born on, to head off to college.

I plan to sit with him and get his stories recorded. He has done unbelievable things.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Two Peas In a Pod

My precious granddaughter, Isabele, turns 5 today! She is my namesake and every bit as feisty as I was at that age (according to my mom). Is that why we understand each other so well?

Thursday, April 8, 2010

April 8, 2010

Today my daughter, Alyssa, turns 24. She was just toddling around the house in her diaper with a big smile! I can still see her mixing up concoctions in the kitchen, assisted by her brother. Or appearing from nowhere (where she had been a little TOO QUIET) with a section of her hair missing. She loved to snuggle up next to you on the couch and had the funniest way of sleeping with one leg bent -- sticking up in the air and the other one crossed at the knee. I can almost hear the tiny little whistle coming from her nose as she slept.

Alyssa is creative and is naturally gifted at working with hair. She is a hard working single mom with a precious son. She is the apple of my eye.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

work in this economy

Bob is starting to look at job listings. The company he works for is experiencing a lull in remodeling jobs.

Monday, March 8, 2010

a sigh of relief

Alex sold his (second) motorcycle and bought himself a 4 wheel drive truck. I am thankful this motorcycle is gone, it was quite a beauty to behold, but oh so fast ..... and dangerous.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

February 18, 2010

My oldest daughter turned 29 today! Five years ago she was born. Four years ago she started kindergarten. Three years ago she graduated from high school. Two years ago she was getting married and a week ago she was pregnant ...... at least in my mind.

Today she is an incredible woman. She's a single, hardworking mother of three precious children. Nicole is working with and impacting other children as well as her own. She is my pride and joy.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Conquering The Beast

First of all, I had to get up and into the truck. Not an easy feat for this little Native American woman. I am able to get in on the passenger side and of course trying to get myself up and in on the driver's side was backward and the complete opposite. My legs don't do opposite.

I was determined to get myself up there. This was all about me proving that I COULD drive the Beast, I would not be defeated before I even started! Eventually I pulled and crawled and drug myself up and over the seat (not a pretty sight, quite humbling actually).

After instructing me on how to start the ignition (and there is a trick to doing it), we were off. First thing I noticed was that the dashboard was very high or else I was sitting very low in the seat. I asked Bob if I looked short in the driver's seat. He asked me if I could see over the steering wheel. Ha ha

The front end needs some work so the steering wheel is not straight. Your hands turn to the left about a quarter of a turn. As you drive, you've got to keep correcting the steering wheel because it pulls to one side and then the other. This reminded me of trying to play that Driving Across the US video game. I can never keep my car on the road in that game. Fortunatley there were no deer or other wildlife on the side of the road this day.

Next I was told that the we are actually going 5 miles faster than the speedometer says we are, because of the big tires. Then Bob asked me what the mileage was on the trip meter. Was he serious? I could not even see the trip meter and when I finally located it I realized that I couldn't read those little numbers unless I took off my single vision glasses. I told him not to talk to me for awhile because I was concentrating on keeping us on our side of the white line and watching the speedometer with the stress of a brand new driver.

I could not judge the width of the right side of the vehicle and was surprised that I was not going up over curbs when I had to turn right.

A car came out of a side street and pulled into the road instead of staying at the stop sign just as we came upon it. I slammed on the brakes, locking them up, as Bob yelled at the driver. I didn't have time to check my mirrors or even think of honking the horn. Fortunately we were not hit from behind.

Not too long after this, a car in front of me swerved into the next lane just in time for my lights to shine on approximately 4 feet of a palm tree laying across my lane. We barely missed running over it.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Beast, As We Lovingly Call It

Today Bob said I was going to drive the truck.

The truck is his pride and joy ... or so it was a few years ago, but that's another story. The truck is 4 wheel drive and lifted with big tires. When we first got the truck Bob offered me a little wooden step to climb up into the truck. Somewhere down the road he did away with the littel wooden step. Maybe he got teased about having it in the back of his BIG bad truck... but that's another story too.

We were talking today and it came up in our conversation that I had never driven the truck. As a matter of fact I didn't have keys to the truck and my name isn't on the title ... but alas, that is another story.

Bob said that there's a good reason why he doesn't want me to drive it (yes! he admitted it!) He said it was hard to drive. I told him that he could teach me how to drive it. And that's basically how it came about that TODAY was the day.