It is Official!!

I am enrolled at UNLV!! I guess it is about time I got my BA. I have been wanting to do it for 10 years. The timing always seems wrong for things like this. Now is no exception. I have all the same fears and apprehensions about committing to being a full time student with three kids, one car, and a husband with the craziest rotating shift I have ever even heard of but, here goes nothing, and everything. I am starting to get the little excited butterflies that come with the start of any new adventure... wish me luck!

So Busy

I thought summer was supposed to be lazy and full of nothing. I have not found this to be the case in our little part of the world. I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way. We have no big news to report which is usually a good thing. Oh, well I am now a full time student at UNLV. I start in the fall. Everyone keeps asking me what I want to study and the truth is, I just want to get a job that is worth my time. I will be getting a multidisciplinary studies degree. BA. It will qualify me for a lot more than I currently could hope for. I will keep posting as I decide what to do when I grow up....whenever that will be..

Woah!

What happened? I think I blinked. Christmas? Over. New years? over. Now we have just celebrated Soren's 9th birthday and on Monday we will celebrate little Hazel turning 4! It is amazing how busy and yet how peaceful it has all been. We also remember Nathan's father as it is the anniversary of his passing 4 years ago today.
I have been thinking of him. He meant a lot to our family. It is hard to watch Nathan grieve each year. We have been through so much since this day in 2008 it seems like a lifetime ago. It also has gone by in an instant. I'm hoping the rest of the Eames clan is healing from his passing and is spending today remembering all the good times we shared with Ron. I know he looks down on all of us with love.
He is ever in our hearts and minds. The kids reminisce often about their special Grandpa moments and we sing the Welsh fighting song almost every night before bed. It was the song I most often heard Ron sing and he used it to put his grandchildren to sleep.
We miss him.
Happy memories mixed with a touch of sorrow. Is it not the way of most things? I am glad to have known Ron Eames. I hope my two older children will remember how he loved them. I hope my youngest will hear of him and know he loved her too even though in this world they never met. His death being sandwiched between two such important dates in our lives is both a blessing and a hardship. But each time I think of him and my two sweet January babies, I smile. And that is a legacy for which I can thank Ron.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Today is Thanksgiving. We will not be traveling to see family. No one is coming to celebrate with us and Nathan has to work all night tonight like he did last night, the night before and will tomorrow night. (Just like he had to do last year.) At one point I contemplated not having Thanksgiving at all. In my melancholy mood I didn't want to acknowledge how distant we are from family or how our window of being together consists of about an hour after he wakes to the time Nathan has to get to work. I felt sorry for myself and kind of cynical about the whole thing. My attitude changed as I looked at my sweet family and realized, I am thankful.

I am thankful to have a husband who is willing to work on a holiday and all night to ensure his family is taken care of. I am thankful he insists I don't work so I can focus on the kids and their needs. It is a blessing of epic proportion especially since we moved from St. George to Sin City. Nathan is such an amazing person full of life and a love of learning. He never complains about the work he has to do. I am grateful he is such a good father and puts his family before himself. I am thankful for his sense of humor and how he brings it to each situation. I am so thankful he tries to understand me. I am thankful he has patience. I am thankful for his forgiving nature. I am thankful he makes it so easy to love him. I am blessed to have him teach me new ways of looking at things. I am thankful he loves me.

I am thankful for a beautiful teen-aged daughter. She makes my life a little easier. How many mothers of teens can say that? She is thoughtful and mature and lovely. I am a lucky mom indeed. Victoria has the ability to make me laugh even when I am upset or angry. She understands her crazy mom and knows how to interpret my mood and help me out of a funk. I am grateful she forgives me when I make mistakes. She understands and accepts that while I am her mother I am only human and don't always have all the answers. I am thankful for what a good big sister she is to her brother and sister. I am thankful she makes good choices when she is far from home and has opportunity to make bad ones. I feel blessed she strives to do well in school. She also teaches me new ways of looking at things and I am amazed at her intuition. I am thankful she loves me.

I am thankful for my son. Soren makes me happy. There is never a day I don't feel grateful for this human being in my life. He is smart, kind, sensitive, and funny. I am thankful for his sense of humor. The world according to Soren is a much better place than the world according to anyone else. He sees possibility in everything. I am thankful for his patience with myself and his siblings. I am thankful he is so sweet with his little sister and takes such good care of her. I am grateful for his huge heart. Soren's love is so easy and so available. I am thankful he is a forgiving soul. I am thankful he is so smart. I love to watch him grow and learn. Soren never needs something shown to him a second time. I am thankful for his quick mind and wit. Soren teaches me there are many ways to look at something and no option is too far fetched. I am thankful he loves me.

I am thankful for little surprises. Hazel is a fireball. I am thankful she is her own person. I am thankful she wont take any crap from any one. I am thankful she is funny and confident and spicy. I am also thankful for her sweetness. I am thankful for her questioning mind. Hazel is keeping me on my toes and causing me to be more active in my parenting and in my life choices. I am thankful she challenges me. I am thankful she has so many facets to her little ever expanding personality. I am thankful for her kisses. I am thankful she is so mindful of those around her. I feel blessed she is a loving sibling and adores her sister and brother. I am thankful she is a daddy's girl. The special bond she has to her father is a blessing in my life. I am thankful Hazel is a songbird. I am thankful for butterflies and the love we share of them. Hazel teaches me something new every day and I am thankful she loves me.

We are all we need. Our lives are far from perfect but the absolute love and adoration each feels for each other is amazing. We are closer than ever. Our house is full of laughter and love and strength. What more do I need to make a holiday? I am thankful. This little group of people I get to call my family make me a better woman. They inspire me, they help me, they love me. So here is to a good meal and some love around a little kitchen table. Here is to them teaching me not to be selfish and to remember,I am thankful.