4th of July trip to North Carolina

Fourth of July Part One

Fourth of July Part two

Success

My constant battle seems to be finding a balance between my work life and family life. I suppose that this is a battle that every one of us faces, trying to give 100% of oneself to every aspect of your life. I found a great quote today from ralph waldo Emerson on Success and I just had to share it.

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because I have lived. This is to have succeeded."

My cutest little ballerina in her first ballet class. She is so excited and has so much fun! Sorry for the glare, I am shooting pictures through the glass window.

Lexi update

Latest word is that Lexi got to come home and everyone is recovering well. She has a bit of pneumonia in one lung, but the doctor is very positive and thrilled with her recovery so far.

A link to the news interview: http://www.kidk.com/news/25486644.html?video=YHI&t=a

Pray for Lexie

Monday evening I received a phone call from my sister in Idaho: part of my Dads step family had been involved in a terrible canoing accident. The father, mother, 4 year old son and new baby were able to get out of the water but the 6 year old daughter was swept downstream until they were able to get her from the water, what we understand is that she was not breathing and was on an asperater (sp?) until they started to life flight her to SLC from Idaho falls. The last update we received was that Lexi was breathing on her own now and responding to yes and no questions.

That night I went in to my sleeping kids, my son only younger then Lexi by a few months, and kissed them...I can only imagine the pain that Shana and Jo are going through, the uncertainty and waiting. Our hearts go out to them and we pray for Lexi many times a day.

Thank you also to all of my wonderful girlfriends who are all close to God in their own ways and have been praying for her also. I am lucky to have many friends with many different views of the world of religion, many of them seem very different from one another, it is the core values of family and a personal closeness to God that binds them together and makes them strong and in the end very much the same. The names change, the religions change, the personal choice of how to worship changes but we are all the same...we love God, we love our families and we are all praying for you Lexie.

Crazy Mommy

It is nice to sit down for a moment and stop from all of the running last minute errands, tying up last minute work so that there's nothing to worry about and making sure we have a sparkling house to come back to, packing everyone's suitcases and making sure that 4 people all have exactly what they need so that vacation will run smoothly with no tears or dissapointment.

And for me the last and most stressful...using every last ingenious creative idea to keep 2 young kids occupied with limited resources in a cramped space for 8 hours. We've made long plane trips before and I am sure it will be fine but there is always that worry in the back of my head....what if I forget something.

In the end a hug from my kids is all it ever takes to remind me to sit back and just relax, it will all work out fine and be fun!

"When I grow up"

I have mentioned before that the dinner table seems to be one of the best place to hear hilarious and sometimes intriguing comments from the kids. While eating last night Marcelo and I were listening to some information about the presidential race on the news. This is the first year that both of us have been really interested and involved in the political process and I suppose the kids have picked up more then I thought!

Amy: "mom where is the girl president"

Mom: "she's not running for president anymore" (not wanting her to lose the dream that it is possible for a woman to be president, as an afterthought I added) "next time maybe another women will run for president"

"Amy: "oh, mom, she must not have said the right words"
(right now I am marveling at her intuitivness, only to be surprised and delighted by her next statement)

Amy: "When I am president I'll always say all of the right words!"

Papi: "Thats right! You would be a great president"

(not to be outdone by his sister Nicolas just has to one up her!)

Nicolas: "Well, when I grow up I am going to be God!"

In his little 5 year old mind....the only thing more powerful then the President of the United States....God. hmmm

Girls Night Out

Last friday while father and son went to the theatre to watch the new Hulk movie, little Amy and I had our first real Girls night out. She is so darn cute! We tried out Platinum Salon on Tv Hwy and had pedicures and manicures together. She was thrilled and felt very "grown up", spending the rest of the evening walking proudly and holding her hands just right for everyone to see her pretty nails.