Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that wherever you are and whoever you are with that you are surrounded by love and thanksgiving!

I am celebrating today with Tim, my kids, Dave, his girlfriend Mandie, Future, my Mom, and our friend Katie. Jessica (Future's Mom) will be joining us later for dessert. I feel very thankful that my family is all together celebrating Thanksgiving. These past few years have been a difficult road to travel with lots of twists and turns. It is just awesome and something I am so proud of that our family has persevered and succeeded. I am so thankful and full of love for my family.

I hope you enjoy the day with the ones you love. We send our love to you on this Thanksgiving Day!

Full weekend!

I had every intention to blog about something meaningful this weekend. In fact I was going to write up my birth stories, just because I like retelling the story. LOL! But alas I got busy with the rest of my life! I did laundry, cleaned my house, reorganized the playroom, did a paper craft with the kids, made zucchini bread with Kaleb and painted Jasmyn's finger and toe nails! Oh and I am working on a Christmas project that I will share on here in January!!!! *whew* Yeah it was a productive weekend.

Here is the papercaft:

The kids and I painted the feathers and then I painted the turkey. After everything was dry I stapled it to the wall in my dinning room. Gobble Gobble! Happy Thanksgiving!

I promise to get back to my birth stories in the next few days. With Thanksgiving Day approaching I have pies to make, Groceries to buy, and a bird to thaw. So I will be around and about. Plus I have Christmas presents to finish and wrap!

Can't wait for January! Then maybe I can blow out one end of the candle. LOL!

I've been tagged

Thanks Megan for tagging me! So I guess I am supposed to write 6 unsuspected things about myself. This might be hard since I tend to be an open book.... hmmmmm

1. Once I switched to "Diet" soda I actually prefer diet Coke to Diet Pepsi. It surprised me too since I can't stand regular Coke but LOVE regular Pepsi.

2. My house may look all neat and clean on the surface... but my closets, drawers and rooms with locks may or may not be in TOTAL disarray!

3. I do not wear perfume. Tim hates it. I was so glad when he told me because I hate it too! It relieved my guilt of not wearing it!

4. I have 1 tattoo. It was very pretty when I got it 16 years ago. Now it looks like a bruise with flames coming off it! LOL! I am not in a huge hurry to get another one, but if I did I would fix the current one first before adding another.

5. I have to make my bed everyday. Even if it is only 2 minutes before I climb into it, I have to straighten the covers and smooth the sheets and fluff the pillows before I can sleep well. I also make my kids make their beds everyday. Besides, a room looks "pulled together" once the bed it made (see #2).

6. I only wear 2 pieces of jewelry. My wedding ring that Tim got from my Grandma. A pair of diamond earrings (the diamond is *almost* big enough to see. LOL!) that Tim bought me for Christmas the second year we were married. I have not taken them out of my ears once (other than for cleaning) since.

And since I know nobody else that blogs, I guess I can't tag anyone else. Sorry but this little game has to stop with me! LOL!

Bray Bunch Under Construction!

Yeah I have decided that my blog needs a face lift. I am not happy with the Orange that is has been. So I am playing around with some different color options and template choices. So forgive me as I continue my "construction". I will try to keep posting as I fiddle with things!!!!

All I want for Christmas is.....

a Sizzix! Well and the dies that come with it!!!!! THIS is the one I want!!! It works with all the different Sizzix dies.

I love paper crafts. I started doing scrape booking a while back. I have never been all the good at it. I can journal and I can take the pictures, but putting them together..... well that is more my friend Stephanie's department. Now that I have kids I have been more excited about all the cool things you can do with paper since they LOVE doing paper crafts. And then yesterday I got a special treat.

I was volunteering at Jasmyn's school. Ms. Casey wanted me to go cut some shapes out on the die cutter for some upcoming lessons/themes for her classroom. I had never used a die cutter before. And WOWZA are they cool! I made Snowmen and stars and turkeys and snowflakes and mittens. So today I went back in with my own paper and used the machine to make butterflies, flowers, stars, snowmen, Christmas trees, flower pots, and dinosaurs! It was so fun. And while I was cutting away I realized why so many scrapebookers use die cutters! They are so fun and easy. And with a little imagination.... my scrapebook pages might even look like someone older than 5 put them together!!

So if you are interested in checking it out, go to www.sizzix.com. Also they sell the dies on ebay! I think Tim is gonna buy the machine for me for Christmas. I told him for at least a year or so he will never have to ask me what I want to holidays... my answer will always be Sizzix dies!

This week remembered

Omojean Vivian Abromeit

On November 7, 1997, my Grandma Jean died. I remember the night like it was last night. I got a call from my Aunt Terrie right after Midnight on the 7th. She said Grandma was having heart trouble and the ambulance was taking her to the hospital. She asked me to please keep trying to call my aunts Jeana and Kathy as she was leaving to follow the ambulance. She asked me to make the calls before I left my apartment in Couer d'Alene and drive the hour long trip to join my family at the hospital in Sandpoint. I did. I made the calls to Kathy and Jeana. After I reached them both and gave them the number to call the hospital directly I got into my little blue Geo Metro and left my apartment. The whole way to Sandpoint I prayed to God that he would save my Grandma. I pleaded with her to "stay strong" and I promised I would see her soon, as if she could hear me. I begged her not to die before I got there to say goodbye.

I arrived at the hospital and rushed inside. I searched the waiting room for my family. There was no one there. I asked the nurse where my family was? She scanned the waiting room and said that they must have all gone home. For the briefest of moments I was elated. They went home... it must mean Grandma was OK. The nurse looked at me sadly and said. " I'm Sorry, your Grandma has expired". I looked at her dumbfounded. "expired? What does that mean?" It suddenly hit my. My Grandma was gone. I started to cry and the nurse took my hand. She asked me if I wanted to see her. They took me past the desk and to a room with big double doors. Grandma was laying very unnaturally on a stretcher type bed. Her neck was straight and her head perfectly sitting even on her shoulders. That was highly unnatural from Grandma because bone spurs in her neck made it very painful for her to straighten her neck out, so she always had her head cocked to one side. I was disturbed by the way she was laying flat on her back. I wanted to cover her up with a thick warm quilt, give her a pillow and help her get comfortable. She had a tiny drop of blood on her lip. I touched her head and her cheek. I touched her hand. She was still warm. It was hard to believe that someone with such warmth in their body still... was gone. I hear my name behind me. It was my Uncle Allen. He had gotten all the way home from the hospital and remembered that I was still on my way. He came back to the hospital in hopes of catching me to tell me himself. I fell into his arms and sobbed. I know whatever he said was comforting but I honestly don't remember what the words were. I got calmed down enough that he thought I could drive. He put me into my car and he got into his. He went home and I went up to my Aunt Terrie's where my Mom and the rest of the family was waiting for me. I sobbed the whole drive there. I remember I was on Boyer street in front on the old Lincoln school and the Mill, I started just beating the steering wheel with my fist and screaming "I'm sorry I didn't get there to say good bye" and "why did you have to die?" I was so angry. ("expired"?!?!?! WTF? My Grandma is NOT a gallon of milk) And so scared. I could not at that moment imagine my life without her. She would never get to see me grow up, get married, have babies. I still needed her. I still need her.

Grandma was the most beautiful wonderful strong women I have ever loved. She was flawed and damaged and made her share of mistakes. She LOVED her children and her grandchildren fiercely. Her relationship with me taught me how to love and parent my children and to be in a strong marriage with Tim. She taught me how to assert myself, have a voice and be heard. She showed me love, unconditional love. My Grandparents were married for ever. I don't know how many year exactly, but more that 30, maybe more than 40, maybe even 50. And while they fought and bickered I saw real love that stood the test of time, poor health, misfortune, but also triumphs and joy. They had staying power. They had mutual respect and love. They grew old together and when he was gone, she wanted to go to. She was resourceful and practical. She taught me to save and use things wisely. But she also taught me that every once in a while a girl needs a nice new dress. She had a quick wit and a beautiful laugh. She loved to sing old country ballads and her favorite Christmas song was "the Drummer Boy". I can still hear her sing "pprrrrumpadum dum". She crotchet beautiful things and always had a project going. I loved her and I miss her terribly. But the best part of missing her is remembering her and kn owning she misses and loves me too.

Maybe this week would have hit me hard regardless of my fertility issues, but with them makes this week so difficult and bittersweet. See in 2003 and then in 2005 I discovered I was pregnant with Jasmyn and then Mason in this first week of November. I felt at those times that even though I missed Grandma terribly that she was sharing in my joy. She loved babies, and I know she would have loved my kids and been so excited to see me pregnant. So finding out I was pregnant during the same week as the anniversary of her death seemed to connect me to her in some way. Maybe just the circle of life. Or maybe because I feel such a motherly connection to her. None the less it was a special time. So this year is a bit different. I am remembering my Grandma on the 11th anniversary of her death and after more than 9 months of actively trying to conceive a child I am still not pregnant. I am just so very sad.

If she were able to hear me I would want to tell her: I miss you. I love you. Every time I eat popcorn, ice cream or drink a Pepsi I think of you. When I cook stroganoff, bake Oatmeal Cookies or make fudge I think of you. Every time I look at my ring that you gave to Tim for me I see your love and commitment to Grandpa and it makes me want to work harder at my marriage. I see you in my daughter's smile and oh how I wish she and my sons could have met you. I am so glad you got to met Tim and approve of him before you died. Thank you for crying with me when my Dad died. You were the only one who knew what to do for me. Above all else, thank you for loving me.

P.S. Oh and if you have any pull with St.Peter could you talk to him about sending a baby to us. Maybe you could help hand pick one for us? We would really love that.