Long time gone

Sorry for not posting! I don't even know who else reads this thing other than Michelle in Maryland! Anyways, I know I have some catching up to do.

Thanksgiving in San Diego! Well, the 16 hour drive there seemed to go by fairly fast. Ace of course drove the entire way and I slept off and on. We got in shortly after 8am, just in time for the squirt to wake up and be ready to go! SO... Nana and I took the squirt and his cousin (miss M) to an aquarium in La Jolla. It was short and sweet but definitely a nice trip away from the house. Of course the weather was GORGEOUS and the kids liked seeing all the different fish. Plus there was a neat Seahorse exhibit. All in all, it was time well spent. Then that night we hung out at the house with the fam and ate a nice steak dinner. Mmmmmmmmmm..... steak. That Thursday while Ace helped Nana in the kitchen, I ventured out with the squirt to Coronado Beach. Now, my sis had given me directions but somehow accidentally mixed up N with S. So, the squirt and I almost ended up in Mexico. Seriously. I took the last exit before we hit the border. I laughed of course and we found our way to the beach. It was AMAZING. My new profile pic is evidence of that. We had a blast. We splashed in the water and played in the sand. It was great! Of course we were only there for an hour, but it was much needed spirit time on my end. Then that night we had a MAJOR feast. Goodness gracious I felt blessed:-) The whole family joined together and we just sat around afterward. I did some much needed knitting and actually finished TWO projects while we were gone. A pair of socks that I'll post a picture of later and a scarf for a friend on the east coast.

That Friday the boys went and played baseball and we just hung out at the house. Had dinner that nice at a fancy restaurant and got to see Nana & Grandpa's new house. Um... Then that Saturday we all made Tamales, the normal family Christmas tradition. But since we aren't going to be there for Christmas, we did it early. Pictures of that will be up soon as well! Then that night we hung out again. All in all I think Ace and the squirt had a great trip. I had a wonderful time visiting with my sister-n-law because she is just so darn wonderful. I love her dearly. And in all seriousness - I have no idea what I would do without her.

We drove out in the wee hours on Sunday morning. It was so sad but cute, the squirt says, "where are we going?" and we tell him, "We are going back home so you can see Momma." and he responds with, "But I wanted to go back to the beach." with sad puppy eyes and everything. Sigh. I know.... I wanted more of the beach too.

We made it back in like... 17 or 18 hours. Stopped in Utah for some In-N-Out. GAHHHHHH!! Hark the angels sing their voices... la la la la... Hamburger heaven for those of you who haven't experienced the glory. Mmm. It really is soo good.

What else? Well I finished my last class - Lifespan Development. That was an interesting class. Online, which I definitely do not prefer but I guess easy. Then two Mondays ago I started Human Sexuality. So far that class is really fun. And I'm looking forward to our next one on the 28th. Keep in mind people - this is all for my psych minor. WHICH!!! OH MY GAH!!!!! I received in the mail today my official certificates for Biblical Studies AND Project Management. I want to frame them they look so fancy. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I'm so excited.

Dog sitting has still been busy. And on top of full time work, full time school, dog sitting, part time parenting I now have an official 2nd part time job as a caregiver for this company called Touching Hearts. It's a really neat business and I'm excited to be a part of it. It's basically non-medical care for seniors or really anyone with a disability. We go shopping for them, we help them bathe, we fold laundry, some light house work, we read to them, go on walks with them, etc. SO it's good for them and it feeds my soul. I contacted our church a few weeks ago trying to figure out where my skills/gifts can be best be utilized and no one has really been able to help yet, so we'll see. I think this new job is a right step toward figuring that out though.

Work has been really slow still. I love my team though. They are so amazing and I like learning something new every day. We actually adopted several families through a headstart program at a church and dropped all the kids gifts off yesterday. It was a moving experience. I just wish that we could give and give and give. ALL the time. Because there are so many kids out there who have nothing. And their wish list items are like, toilet paper; wash cloths, PJs, socks, an action figure, a barbie. So much stuff that we take for granted on a regular basis.

Other stuff... Ace and I are still doing really well. I feel like we are having more fun and communicating better. I still have my moments when I get moody and snap, but then I calm down and apologize and chill out. As a family we are doing really good. The squirt is so darn smart and quick. He wants to play with legos right now, which is fine. And he loves sports still so if thats on TV, he watches a lot of games.

So last, but not less important - I finally touched base with my uncle for the first time in .... YEARS. As well as his daughter and son - MY COUSINS!! It's so sad to think that we lived in NC for as long as we did yet we never got to see them and hang out. So I didn't get to grow up with family. Lame, huh? But now they are all grown and independent and expressive and smart and motivated and soooo much more. And it just felt really great to hear my uncles voice on the phone. Now I feel a little more in the loop in regards to my mom, which is good. So hopefully the lines of communication will remain open. One can hope!!