May 30, 1949-July 8, 2014

Wandall Jim Hughes.
To his friends, he was Jim. 
To his close family he was lovingly called Chubby.
 To his 2 children, he was Dad or Pops.
 His 6 grandchildren called him Pop-Pop.
And to the love of his life he was….more than just words.

He was a proud Pop-Pop. We would joke that when we were all gathered together was when he was most relaxed. Because every single time, he would fall asleep. 

I was his right hand man. He was my best friend. He often called on me to do things around the house that he couldn't.  We loved to go fishing together. We spent many nights on the boat catching fish and talking.  I was proud to have him as a father, he was proud of me.

My wife, Adrienne was like a daughter to him. He treated her like one, often teasing her. Saying she always took the longest to order when we went out to eat. He loved when she would bring over one of her homemade pies. 

I gave him 3 grandchildren:
Jayden Wandall Hughes- Age:10
Ava Renee Hughes- Age: 6
And
Wyatt Owen Wandall Hughes-Age: 9 months

My sister Amber was his baby girl. She was fortunate enough to share his cheesy sense of humor and they always joked around together. He loved her cooking and was always in awe of all the things she could do. From crafting and sewing to photography. He was so proud of her.
Amber is married to Matt Shoemaker. As the years passed, Matt and Jim became close. They would often sit in a quiet room and just talk. He knew Matt was good with computers and would call on him when he needed help with anything electronic.

Amber gave him 3 grandchildren:
Matthew Wandall Shoemaker-Age: 13
David Bowen Shoemaker-Age: 6

and the latest addition to our loving family,

Emma Jo Shoemaker-Age: 6 weeks

He loved his nephew Clay Wuensche like a son. He was very proud of all of Clay’s accomplishments.  He would joke with Clay’s wife Christin that she was not allowed to come to the house unless she made his favorite spinach/artichoke dip. He also loved their son Patrick like a grandchild and treated him as such. 

After we were grown and out of the house, he and my Mom loved to travel. Together they explored:
Cabo St. Lucas, Mexico
Caymen Islands
Virginia (Jamestown)
Washington, D.C.
Las Vegas
And many more.

He was an avid golfer. He went to the golf course every single day for years. He was very good and managed to get two two holes in one while they lived in Arizona.
He loved my Mom more than anything. They were married August 28, 1971. It would have been 44 years this year.

He was a hard working entreprenuer who had many jobs: 
He was millwright at Alcoa.
He owned his own bowling center, which was his dream.
He was a real estate agent.
And he retired with Chase Bank as an Inside Salesman. 

He had amazing charisma. He would meet someone and next thing you knew, they were talking like they had been best friends for years.

He will be missed by many.

And we will never be the same without him.

Storytime

I used to read to the kids every night before bed. But we have the same books and I really got tired of reading the same ones over and over and over again. (really need to get some new books)

It was then that I remembered we used to do story time with Matthew when he was little because we would giggle at the adorableness that would come out of his mouth. 

So I've started back up this tradition of storytelling with David. 

We usually do the back and forth storytelling. I tell a little bit until he feels like filling in. 

This was his story the other day. 

A:Once upon a time, there was a little boy named...

D: DAVID!!

A: David and his mommy decided to go into the garden to pick some vegetables for a salad!

D: then they found a worm!!

A: yes, they found a worm and David picked it up and the worm crawled all over his arm.

D:  then David climbed on da worm and they flew away!! (makes flying noises)  Then the worm fell out of the sky!! (AAHHHH!!!) And David broke his foot.

A: So then his mommy picked him up and took him to the doctor to get his foot fixed. The End.

D: Awww....Phank you Mommy.

My Lovely Purple Breakfast

Saturday was my birthday. If you remember my last birthday post, I wasn't too  thrilled on becoming a year older. It was not the case this year. I simply did not mind another birthday had snuck up me.

I was pretty bummed when I found out Matt had drill the day of my birthday (Saturday) and even more bummed when I found out he had to spend the entire day and night in Kansas City and wouldn't be back until Sunday afternoon.

He made it better though.

I received a beautiful bouquet of roses.

He also organized a party with our closest friends. It was nice to sit and talk and watch little ones play.

The next day, my birthday, I got up early to drop Matt off at the armory. Somehow during the night I had developed a nasty head cold. So I came home to still sleeping children and put myself back to bed.

At some point I hear the rustling of wakening children and thought for a moment that maybe I should get up and fix them some breakfast. But I really didn't feel good and felt better knowing there was bread and peanut butter in the house. They would have to fend for themselves until I was able to drag myself out of bed.

Much to my surprise, I was awoken to a platter of food being placed next to my head.

Matthew then very timidly said "I wanted to serve you breakfast in bed."

It was so sweet. He had made a cheese omelette and toast. I was a little unsure about the omelette, it was, well...green.

Come to find out he got out the food coloring and attempted to make me a purple omelette. (Purple is my favorite color)

It was all so sweet I almost couldn't stand it.

So aside from a stuffy AND runny nose (how does that happen!?!) and overall icky feeling, my birthday was absolutely PERFECT!

Lesson Learned

Another awesomely funny story brought to you by my dad. Before I tell it, I'll let you know how the telling of this story came about:

A couple of days ago I went into town to run some errands. On the way home I stopped at the gas station to refuel my car. It was windy so I grabbed my jacket and wallet as I was getting out of the car. I paid for my gas and started fueling. I put my wallet on the top of my car while I put my jacket on and told myself not to forgot it was up there. The fuel stopped pumping at 2 dollars in. I knew that I needed more gas than that so I went to adjust the pump. It was at that point that I completely forgot about my wallet. I drove on home completely oblivious that my wallet was still up there. I didn't even realize until I got home that it was gone. Luckily, just yesterday I got a call that my wallet had been found. 

So Matthew was talking to my dad on the phone the other day, telling him how I had lost my wallet. He then produced this story, which we all thought was pretty funny.

One Sunday morning he was leaving to go to church. He had to strap a toddler Amber into the car seat, so he put his bible on top of the car. He then drove off, heading to church. As he was driving down the freeway he looked at his rear view mirror to see paper flying all over the place. Come to find out his bible was still on top of his car, but the pages were coming out one at a time. 

He spread the gospel all over town that morning.

So now I don't feel too bad about my wallet fiasco. Apparently it's pretty common. A friend even told me she once left an entire cake on top of her car. 

But I will never, ever put my wallet on top of my car ever again. Lesson learned.

How am I doing?

Everyone keeps asking me "How are you doing?" I think this is really sweet, but I don't always want to give the full, drawn-out explanation. So mostly, I just say "I'm fine, thank you."

There is truth to that. I am fine. Just not all the time. A lot happened last week, including the miscarriage.

Matt's Aunt Christina passed away suddenly at the young age of 42. His Grandfather also had a stroke, but thankfully seems to be doing well.

The passing of Aunt Christina just about knocked me off my feet. It was just a few months ago we were visiting and were all piled on her bed with 2 of her 3 kids talking and laughing while Matt fixed her computer.

So I'm dealing with a lot of grief.

Today doesn't seem to be one of my good days. I'm weepy and cranky.

I just need to keep reminding myself that I'm having a bad day, not a bad life.

So, I am fine. But then again, I'm not.

I'm still healing from my miscarriage. I didn't think it would take this long. I always thought you had a miscarriage and then that was it. A one day thing. But it was a week on Sunday and I'm still feeling the effects of it. Ibuprofen helps. So does lots and lots of candy.

Thank goodness for Halloween.

Miscarriage

The following post is slightly graphic. 

Writing is sometimes therapeutic for me. I'm going to talk about something that is very hard for me to verbally say but I want everyone to know. Mostly so there are no awkward conversations. One day I will be able to talk about it. Maybe even in the next couple of days. But right now, every time I utter the word Miscarriage, my heart aches and the tears flow openly.

I had a miscarriage.

Sunday morning the boys and I went to church. Matt stayed home because he is working the night shift and so sleeps during the day. I was still on my new pregnancy high. 7 weeks pregnant, the baby was the size of a blueberry. That was our little nickname for it.

During church services I noticed I was cramping a little. My back was sore also. I just shrugged it off, thinking maybe I was being a little bit of a sissy. I had been spotting the week before and even went and had an ultrasound done. I saw the teeny heartbeat. I'll always remember that teeny little heartbeat. But according to my doctor, everything looked fine.

Spotting is normal as long as it's not bright red and there are no clots. So I just kept an eye on the spotting and slowed my activities way down. No lifting and lots of laying down to read.

Sunday afternoon we were invited over to a friends house for their daughters First Birthday. I arrived at 4pm, played with the baby. Watch David be crazy and silly per usual. I even received some congratulations for my pregnancy and showed off my ultrasound which showed a little blur for a baby. Even at that point I just wasn't feeling right. Call it intuition. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

At one point I went to the bathroom. It was then that I noticed my underwear was soaked with blood, amongst other things. I was devastated.

Matthew came to the door just as I was getting ready to leave. "Mom? Are you ok?" I opened the door, let him and start crying. I manage to say "I lost the baby." He immediately tears up and wraps his arms around me. I love that kid so much.

I then realized I was going to have to walk through a whole crowd of  people to get to the front door while still crying freely. I made it to the kitchen where my friend Beka was preparing food for the party. I managed to sputter out that I had to leave because I just had a miscarriage. She gave me a big hug (hugs really help) and offered to take the boys home later, I agreed and ran out of the door, desperate to get home to my husband.

I get home, wake Matt and we go to the ER. Mostly because I didn't know what to do in a situation like this. I'd never had a miscarriage. After a 4 hour wait, blood work, and an ultrasound, it is determined that this indeed is a miscarriage.

I had pretty much prepared myself for that outcome, but to hear those words come out of the doctors mouth broke that teeny tiny string of hope I had left. We cried and then I told Matt I just want to go get something to eat.

So he fed me, he hugged me, he even rubbed lotion on my legs because they were dry. He has been my rock through all of this. I am so thankful that he is mine and I am his.

I will say that even though this has happened and I am sad about it:
I will not let it define my life or who I am.
I am not broken.
I will be happy, although just not right now.
I will recover.
We will try again.
We love Matthew and David so much. We are eternally grateful to have them as our children.

Donut Heaven

About a week ago someone in my little family suggested making homemade yeast donuts. I don't remember who it was, maybe my dear husband who is well known for his massive sweet tooth. Either way the thought of  homemade yeast donuts  instantly had us all drooling. Matthew signed up to be my side kick in the donut making process. He was instantly ready to get in there. He even went and washed his hands without having to be ask. (he's getting so big! *sniff*)

I had never made donuts, much less yeast donuts.  I may be kind of weird, but I can't stand anyone (mostly my children who demand attention) in the kitchen when I'm trying a recipe for the first time. I just need to be able to concentrate so that I don't waste food if I botch it up. There's a lot of pressure there. I never like throwing away food. Even though we now give the veggie scraps to the chickens and the meat scraps to the dog. But those scraps aren't nourishing my family...so yeah, pressure.

Attempt #1 you're supposed to heat up the milk, sugar and butter on the stove until the butter melts. Well I didn't consider that the milk mixture would get screaming hot and kill the yeast when I poured it in there. That was a flop. Didn't rise one little bit. 

Attempt #2 heated up  the milk mixture and then let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. I also made sure to watch it so it didn't get as hot as it did last time. 

Nope, that didn't help either. The yeast died and I was left with dough that was hard as a rock. I wanted to throw it at someone!! But I didn't, I simply threw it in the compost pile. 

After the second attempt I decided to do some research. Matt was concerned that my yeast was old and that's why it wasn't rising. So I checked online and found a little experiment

Take couple of teaspoons of yeast and sugar and add them to a glass of lukewarm water, Let sit for about 5 minutes. If it starts to foam then you know your yeast is good!! If not, well then it's time to restock.

I also found out that the milk mixture needs to be between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Attempt #3 I took my newly discovered information and put it to the test. I dug out my candy thermometer and put together the milk mixture. I was shocked to discover that it took almost a half an hour to cool down to 90 F after getting everything melted. I just wasn't expecting that. 

Matthew then joined me in the kitchen. I felt pretty confident it was going to work this time. David was not allowed in the kitchen at that time because he becomes very needy and demanding. (I want a drink! No milk! I want water......umm, no. I want milk!) It's a bit tiring. Luckily Matt was home and swooped in to distract David with toys and good ol' rough-housing.   

Matthew and I measured and mixed. Then the hardest part. THE WAITING!!

(Would it rise!?! Would it fail?? Only time would tell!?!)

We waited an excruciating 60 minutes. I tried not to go into the kitchen during that time. And if I did, I did not make eye contact with the covered bowl sitting on the counter. 

The timer dinged (Matthew practically informed the entire neighborhood) 

SUCCESS!! THE DOUGH HAD RISEN!!

I won't bore you with the rest of the cooking process.

 We fried them up and topped with warm chocolate frosting. Oh yeah, they were divine!!

Matthew had just polished off his second donut when he practically floated into the kitchen proclaiming "I think I'm in Donut Heaven!"

Once I figured out all that I was doing wrong, they didn't take too long to make.

It looks like we may have the start of a family tradition on our hands. I can handle that.

Zombie Manicures

The past 3 days I have been plagued with terrible insomnia. I would lay in bed and just wait.....and wait...and wait, for sleep to over take me.

So naturally I would get up and roam around the house. Picking up toys. Sweeping floors, rearranging bookshelves. There was even some vacuuming involved.

Nothing online was worth watching.

I was bored. And wide awake. And the rest of the family was tucked cozily into their beds. With content looks on their faces. I know, because I would go and watch them for a little bit. Does that sound creepy? I just think they look so perfect just laying there and re energizing for the next day. I never know how my day is going to go with those two pieces of my heart. I love it.

Anyways, after I finished gazing creepily at my children I went downstairs and fiddled around on Youtube.

I love finding beauty tips that look slightly complex but in fact are super-de-dooper-easy.

So, I found this little gem. (it's a nail tutorial)

I spent a couple of uninterrupted hours painting and decorating my nails. I did get some stress-relief from all of this but at the same time just wishing I could go to sleep.

Around 5 this morning I finally fell asleep.

Matt woke me up around 10 with pancakes on the table! My-oh-my...he's a keeper.

I then spent the rest of the day preparing corn to be frozen, making cucumber salad from our huge cumbers and working on restoring our bathroom door, amongst other household chores

At the end of the day, after I had gotten the toddler out of the bath I look down and realize that my polish is already starting to come off.

I wasn't bitter. I kind of think of it like "washing your car to get rain"

I painted my nails the night before and had terrible insomnia. But I got up and played with my kids and was super productive. All the while I would glance down at my "fancified" nails and giggle.

In theory, to keep me from having a slum ho-hum kind of day, I just need to paint my nails the night before.

Another theory, take care of myself and it will make me happier in the long run.

I kind of like that one better.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Who needs TV with silly shows when I have unlimited entertainment right at my fingertips?

When David and Matthew are in the room (and are both in a good mood, this is key) it's like comedy hour at our house. They can really ham it up and it's hard to resist joining in on the fun.

Recently we held a "laughing contest" while my mom (aka Nana) was here. In case you don't know what that is, it's when you square off with an opponent and you each do whatever it takes to make the other person laugh without laughing yourself. I can't remember who won or lost, only that Nana lost within seconds of squaring off with Matthew. It was fun. We are never without an abundance of fun at our house.

I would like to say that I have truly been blessed with some amazing kids. It's an honor to be their mother.

This is David's rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider

Guest Post

I had the pleasure of being asked to write a guest post on a friends blog!

A Thankful Heart

Grandpa and Grandma Hughes

My grandparents popped into my head this morning as I was getting ready. All of them actually. But I want to dedicate 1 blog post to each set of grandparents.

First up are my Grandpa and Grandma Hughes.

Otherwise known as J.P. and Ruby Hughes.

My Grandma passed when I was about 17 years old. My Grandpa passed almost exactly 2 years later. But this post isn't about their deaths.

I want to talk about the memories I shared with them.

~Grandpa and Grandma~

Growing up my family lived in Texas. My Grandparents lived in Florida. Kissimmee, FL to be exact. About an hours drive to Disney World. My brother and I visited them most summers and most summers they would take us to Disney World. It was fantastic! (Brag moment) I think I'm getting this right...my Grandpa helped in the constructions of Epcot. My dad did too I think. Growing up I always bragged to my friends about that. I thought it was pretty darn cool. Heck..I still do!

Going to my Grandparents house always guaranteed one thing. Tons and tons of fabulous food!! Man, that woman could cook! Every single morning she would make homemade buttermilk biscuits. My favorite thing to eat was a biscuit with a big ol slice of fresh out of the garden tomato. When I moved to the country and started growing my own tomatoes I restarted the tradition of biscuit and tomato sandwiches. I think of her every time I have one.

One time I asked her to show me how to make her famous biscuits. But it consisted of "a handful of this a handful of that. Mix it to it's about this consistency" At my young age I couldn't really grasp that whole idea and I gave up on trying to make them. This may be silly, but when she passed I would often miss her biscuits. Maybe because I thought if I had them, I would have her too.

I never have been able to recreate her biscuits. But I found a recipe a few years ago that comes pretty close. Close enough to qualify to have a slab of tomato applied to it!

~Grandma and a baby Amber~

Another food favorite. Black eyed peas. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my Grandma and Aunt Gladys (Grandma's sister, still kickin!!) shelling peas and talking. They always set me up with a big bowl of peas and let me go to work. I rarely finished a whole bowl by myself. But I loved sitting there and listening to their conversation and feeling all grown-up like. I have to note that they always went to the local farmer's field to pick and bring home multiple bags of black eyed peas. So it was usually an all day affair.

After all the shelling was done, the cooking began.

This is another recipe I have yet to master. But man oh man were they delicious. I feel sorry for you poor saps that have never tasted them. Ha!

She would make a huge batch and separate it into batches and freeze them. I would then come in grab some and warm it up. Add a slice of onion from the garden and I was GOLDEN!! Bonus if she had made cornbread that day.

The last time I had those black-eyed peas, she had already passed. My Aunt Gladys had found a batch in the freezer and sent them home with my dad just for me. Have I told you how much I love my Aunt Gladys? I think she deserves her own blog post.

My Grandpa was often stern, but always loving. He loved to tease me. Like when I would come in and out of the house 3 or 4 times in 10 minutes he would tell me. "You can't go back outside until those hinges cool down!" At the time I didn't know what hinges were. I just thought he was talking about the doorknob. So I would tentatively touch the door knob (like I thought it was going to be hot) and he would smile.

They had these wonderful spinning chairs in the kitchen. I loved to sit and spin in a circle while we were eating. He told me many times that if I didn't stop he was going to put me in a straight back chair. I listened...for a little bit. But I couldn't resist the call of the spin and I would be spinning my heart out not long after.

There was one (really, it was only one) time he made me sit in a straight back, non-spinning chair. It was a sad day for me. But I returned to the spinning chairs and I'm pretty sure it didn't slow me down too much. In fact, If I had a spinning chair I'd probably be spinning right now. Which is why I only have straight back chairs. Ha!

He loved to watch baseball games. I often would sit with him and watch too. I remember asking him what his favorite team was that was playing. Whatever his response, I would tell him that was my favorite team too.

There's so many more memories I could share. But those were the ones that stuck out in my head the most. I hope I did them justice in writing about them. I miss them very much.

Learning to Cook

Matthew decided today to try to make yeast doughnuts. With minimal assistants from us.

Well, he's just learned the first lesson in cooking.

IT'S FRUSTRATING!!!

At least it is when your still learning, or trying a new recipe. He was getting upset because he just had to throw out his 3rd batch of scalded milk. This time because he put 1/3 of a cup of salt into it.

Mom...Dad, if you reading this...go ahead and laugh. I know you are.

Let me share a story of long ago past:

When I was just about Matthew's age (I think I was 12) my Grandma gave me some cookbooks for Christmas. They were magnificent!! It was a complete set of 10 books. Each one containing recipes from different cultures and styles of cooking. I remember sitting and perusing each and every one of them. Marveling at all the wonderful food I would be able to create with them.

Truth be told, I rarely used them.

But there is one thing I made that sticks out in "The History of Amber."

One day I found a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake. That just happens to be my Dad's all time favorite cake. I told him my plans and he went out and bought all the supplies so I could make it.

I went to work! I measured and mixed and baked. It looked spectacular!! Really, it was a work of art. I called my dad in to marvel at my masterpiece. He "Ooh'd and Ahh'd approvingly. I was so pleased.

Then the time came for him to taste it. He grabbed a spoon and scooped up a mouthful...only to almost immediately spit it out into the sink. (Luckily it was close by)

As it turned out. I had mistaken a cup of sugar for...wait for it...a cup of salt.

There is a happy ending to the story. Being the awesome Dad that he is, my Dad returned to the store and bought the ingredients so I could try it again. The second one was a success. But no remembers THAT one!

I had to share this story with Matthew this morning as he was making his own cooking mistakes.

And let it be known, my family has yet to let me live that story down.

Super Goobs!!

There isn't really a whole lot to say about this picture. Basically...I got bored. I decided to start playing with my makeup. It was supposed to be a masquerade mask. I pranced around the house showing off my handy work. David kept looking at me strangely. He said "Mommy?? Mommy??" I knelt down and he gave me a big hug. I asked him if he would like to be a superhero. His face lit up and he sat still all of 2 minutes while I quickly drew on his face.

Matthew, always willing to one-up his brother, said "I can sit still for a long time!" So he sat down, told me his mask idea and I got to work.

My husband was a poor sport and wouldn't let me touch him with the makeup. I didn't pout though. I'd already had my makeup fill. Plus my boredom had been cured!!

Invasion!!

The things we do to make our kids laugh...

The other night the electricity went out in our neighborhood. We had put the kids to bed about 30 minutes prior, so David was sound asleep when it happened.

Matt and I were busy lighting candles and finding flashlights when Matthew came down saying he couldn't sleep. The blackout had him a little freaked.

Matt, in an attempt to "lighten" the mood, started joking to Matthew that we were in the middle of an alien invasion. It started to make him feel better so I went ahead and took it a step further.

I whipped out the foil and fashioned some crude alien invasion hats for us. You know...so the aliens can't read our minds!!

We had fun sitting and posing on the bed. We sent him to bed about 10 minutes later. He felt much better and the electricity came on soon after that.

Flippin My Wig

It's no secret that my mom will occasionally wear a wig when she doesn't feel like fixing her hair. Somehow last night I was talked into letting her put her wig on me. Hilarity ensued and I laughed till I couldn't breathe.

Of course, Adrienne was there to snap pictures with her phone. I love having my family around. There's never a dull moment.

Flirty Thirty Birthday!

Today was my birthday. Technically it still is, but most of the day is over. It was beautiful. I want to share all the wonderful things that I witnessed today on my birthday.

But first, let me tell you how much I've loathed this day coming. For weeks I would moan when I so much as glanced at the calender. Then when it came time for me to remove the Febuary page and mark in all the appointments in March I grimaced everytime I came across my birthday. I never did mark my birthday on the calander. There's a reason for all of this groaning and pouting. I've turned 30. Ok, so today hasn't been bad. But the days leading up to it just about drove me crazy. I went through all the thoughts of "ok, I'm 30. What have I done with my life?" I thank God I have such a wonderful, tell-it-like-it-is husband. First he told me to stop whining and pouting. It wasn't getting me anywhere. {that didn't exactly make me feel better} But then he proceeded to tell me the things I have accomplished. I'm a better cook. I can veggies and such. I can bake bread. Plus I make a mean eggplant parmesean. (Mmmm...)

He also informed me that he knows that I do all the laundry in the house and he really appreciates it. We joked that at one point I wasn't always the best at doing laundry. I didn't even seperate the colors. One time, when had been dating for about a year, I shrunk one of his favorite sweaters. It wasn't one of my proudest moments. But it's laughable now.

I can also crochet. I'm still building on that skill. But I love to do it when I'm feeling tense. Something about sitting in a chair {or bed} crocheting something makes all my worries go away.

I'm also a budding photographer. I'm still unconfident and shy about taking other peoples pictures. But I'm working at it.

So yesterday, Matt affirmed me that there are a lot of things that I have accomplished. He also said I just need to quit beating myself up. *sigh* He's right. It's just so easy to compare myself to other people. But I've come to realize, that I'm me. That's all who I'll ever be. And I'm ok with that.

Birthday:
We woke up to our toddler, David (2) climbing on top of us. {as is his normal routine} Saying "Hi!" and giving us both big cheesy smiles. It's a pretty good way to wake up if you ask me. Next Matthew (10) came in and gave me a hug and a kiss and told me Happy Birthday. After that it was time for him to go to school so we bid him farewell and sent him on his way.

It is well known in my family that I do not move very fast in the morning. I'm more categorized as being a night owl. So anyways, I laid in bed for a little bit, revelling in the fact that Matt was home for the morning. (he only gets Thursday mornings off) Matt popped out of bed and took David with him. I didn't really know what he was up to, all I knew was that I had the whole bed to myself. Does that sound selfish? Hmmm... Either way, it was lovely to just lay there in the quiet and sleep a little longer. A while later he comes in with a stack of pancakes and I get breakfast in bed. {insert ooey gooey love about my husband}

He left shortly after that to go take care of a job he is helping a friend with. So I just lounged in my bed until it was time to start getting ready.

I am the Activity Days Leader (8-11 yr. old girls) and Matthew is in Cub Scouts. They both meet at the same time. So Matt came rushing back to pick us up. We drove into town, dropped off the necessary people and I headed to the church. I was first greated by Auburn. She is turning 12 tomorrow which means she is moving on from Acitivity Days to Young Womens. She is a very sweet girl and she brought me a present! It was so adorable. A necklacke with the letter A and sparkly stud earrings, fuzzy socks and CHOCOLATE!!!

I was next greated by Lucy (age 8) she presented me with a sweet card and a bottle filled with sand. I was a bit confused at first but then she explained to me that it's called a "find it". Basically you have to turn the bottle all around and find all the things she has hidden in there. What a cute idea!

So after we had our little gift exchange I wanted to teach the girls how to play Yahtzee. It's by far one of my favorite games. I fully expected to not finish the game, I just wanted to make sure they understood the rules at the end. About 30 minutes before it's time to go we hear the door open and the girls start squeeling. All I can hear is "BALLOONS!! BALLOONS!! AND CAKE!!

My dear friend Amber Galbraith had brought roses, HUGE balloons, and a delicious chocolate turtle ice cream cake. Sooo good! I ran over and gave her a hug, That was the sweetest thing anyones ever done for me. The cake was gone lickity split and we all left soon after that.



Back at home:
When we got home Veronica (Matt's Mom) Megan, Talina, Alexis (Matt's sisters) were waiting for us. I sat down and let the cooking begin. Matt started grilling the meat. Megan made a vanilla cake from scratch and put it together and iced it. Talina and Alexis got the drinks ready. It was a family effort. I felt very loved.

As for my present, Matt got me the most amazing thing that he knew I would love. It's a one hour Swedish massage! I am constantly having back problems, so I will be making my appointment post haste!!

So after all that moping and pouting this day has been wonderful. I know that many more wonderful days will be coming. 30 isn't so bad. I feel more confident in myself at this point. I'm not just a 20-something, I'm now a 30 year old woman!! I've finally come to terms with that. Is it a bit silly or crazy? Maybe. But this is the path that I had to take to come to terms with my age.

Love Found a Way

Let me just start out by saying how honored I am to have my story told. My wonderful friend Connie offered to do my story and I was more than thrilled.

This subject is very close to my heart. I thank my parents every day for all they do. For the unconditional love they show me on a daily basis. The part at the bottom always chokes me up. Both of my parents proudly show off all 4 of their grandchildren. No one would suspect they are not biologically theirs. But they might as well be.

I typed out the entire article at the bottom.

Amber Hughes Shoemaker, Parnell, is very aware of the positive effects adoption can have on a child.

Shoemaker was born March 3, 1981, and was brought to her adoptive parents' house on March 12. She was just eight days old. Shoemaker and her brother Steven were both adopted through the Edna Gladney Center for Adoption.

Jim and Tanna Hughes had a deep desire for children. Although they had tried for years, Tanna was seemed to be unable to conceive.

They went to a fertility doctor. Tests were administered. Treatment was prescribed. Nothing was working.

"When the doctor told my parents they wouldn't be able to have their own children, he had tears in his eyes," Shoemaker said. "My parents adopted my brother shortly after that--in September 1976."

When Shoemaker was 7 years old, she remembered asking her mother questions about babies. Had she really been a baby in her mommy's tummy?

"That's when my mother told me about being adopted," she said.

She told me my birth mother loved me enough to give me to someone who could take care of me.."

Shoemaker grew up knowing she was adopted. It just felt natural.

"That's how it was and how it's always been," she said, "We were their kids. My brother is my brother. He picks on my like any other brother would pick on his little sister."

Shoemaker's was a closed adoption. When she became an adult, she realized nobody in the family looked like her. "Matthew looked identical to my husband," she said.

All the information Shoemaker has about her birth parents is in a manila envelope. A few medical details are inside. She knows eczema runs on her mother's side of the family. Both her birth mother and father wear glasses. There was also a list of some of the activities her birth parents enjoyed. She knows her birth father is Irish.

But that's where it stops. Shoemaker has no medical history about her birth parents. She worries about her sons, Matthew and David. What if they were to have a medical concern in their future?

She decided to look for her birth parents; however, she has discovered she can't get any information about them. The records are closed.

Shoemaker said she has talked to people who have considered adoption but were concerned they wouldn't connect with a child that is not their own.

"My parents never had that problem," she said.

"When I had our second son, David, my dad went around at work showing everyone his picture.

People were telling Dad how much David looked like him. He didn't tell them any different. My mom and I both have green eyes. My dad and Steven both have brown eyes.

Editorial Note: November is National Adoption Awareness Month

Not your normal post. A bit of venting and a Happy Valentines Day

These past couple of weeks has been exceptionally hard on us. Matt has returned to school and is working part time. This means that we don't see much of him and I don't get out of the house to often either. To be honest, this has put a bit of a strain on our relationship. We're just trying to endure until the end. We both know that when he finishes getting his CCNA certification we will be in a better place financially.

So I wasn't expecting much for Valentine's Day. He's usually kind of a Valentines Scrouge. Refusing to do anything because he feels he can get me flowers any other time of the year. To which I say WHATEVER! and try not to feel hurt.

I told him this year I wanted to give "heart-felt" gifts to each other. I took all the letters he wrote me in basic and put them together in a folder. (he wrote me every day for 3 months!) He loved it! I wasn't sure he was going to follow up on our deal, but last night he told me what he got/did for me and I was both shocked and touched.



Back story: I was adopted as a newborn from The Edna Gladney Adoption Agency in Texas.



He decided on how much he would have spent on a present, took that money and donated it in my name to the above mentioned adoption agency. He then said if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in his life. They are a non-profit organization too, which made even more awesome.



So even though things have been strained, I know that he loves me and we WILL endure until the end. I'm a lucky gal...

For My Parents

As you may know, I am usually the one taking the pictures. So it stands to reason that there are very few pictures of me and I'm mostly okay with that. This past Saturday I handed over the camera to my sister-in-law Talina and she snapped a few pictures. I was looking through them today and noticed a decent picture of myself. I'm pretty picky about pictures with me in them. Usually cause I tend to strike a goofy pose.


So this is for you Mom and Dad. Cause I realize you like seeing pictures of me too. I am your daughter after all.

Of course I went to http://www.picnik.com/ first and edited it. I had to have a little fun!

This is what I do when I'm bored