Summer is here!!!

It's been a while! So much happens for us all the time and I just noticed it's been about 4 months since I updated the blog :D--we're a busy little family for sure!

This spring Pat and I have been diligently working in the yard. I started a vegetable garden that with "help" from the dogs has managed to grow into baby plants! I'm so excited to have delicious fresh foods in our fridge in a few months! Aliya has also been busy outdoors growing herbs and pumpkins for Halloween :D.

I officially started my internship with the Multnomah County Community Justice department in the ATYF (Assessment & Treatment for Youth & Families). I'll be doing mental health assessments and treatment planning and intervention for families who have youth in the juvenile justice system. It's been interesting so far and I can tell you that I am going to get EDUCATED in more ways than one!!! Here's to 15 months of un-paid labor! Woo hoo!!! I have decided to continue to work part time at my paid job, so pray for my sanity!

For Mother's Day weekend we went to Rockaway Beach with our families. Pat and I, Aliya, our dogs (Boots & Leo), my parents, Dusty, Charmayne, Pat's Mom, his sister Shawna and husband Barry, Evelyn, Barry's parents and Pat's Dad all spent the weekend playing in the sand, eating, drinking, and relaxing--It was amazing! Pat built a gi-normous campfire Saturday nigh and we could not get enough of the ocean, family and our time away! It was the first time our two families got to meet and spend time with one another and it was SO MUCH FUN--we are so blessed!

We are very glad that summer is almost here as we are all outside people. I love our little house but I would rather be out in the sun, playing with the dogs and my family if I have the choice. Aliya is finished with school June 11th and Pat has several "projects" to keep him occupied. My sister Maegan and niece have moved back to Portland, so I'm looking forward to some field trips to the pool and some serious Auntie time with Addie--Yesss!

Miracles & Blessings!!!

It's a New Year :)

Christmas and New Year's have come and gone--I cannot believe it! My winter vacation from Lewis & Clark continues to dwindle, the threat of snow in Porltand has become and remains a reality/nuissance, and my little family and I are making the most of our time together this winter. The boardgames are getting used and we're doign our best not to pack on the winter pounds! :)




We were surprised earlier this month with more snow than I've ever seen in Portland! It was absolutely crazy! I was unable to get to work for two days :D because my little Neon was completely covered in the white stuff wo Pat took Aliya and I on hooky-bobbing behind the Jeep. It was Aliya's first time and she had a blast!
















The day we decided to get a Christmas tree there were blizzard conditions. We waited an extra hour for Pat's sister's family to get to our house before heading up Zig Zag (on Mt. Hood) for our tree. It was the coldest, windiest, snowiest experience I've had in a long time. Pat finally settled for a tree that "looked good" only to realize once we got it home, it was a tad Charlie Brown-ish. Still, we donned it with lots of lights and as many ornaments as its few branches could hold and it was perfect.
















On the 23rd I took Patrick and Aliya to the Nutcracker at the Keller Auditorium downtown. Pat said he didn't really understand what was going on (being a first-time ballet patron) but they both watched intently throughout the show. Aliya told us that she wanted a tutu (sp?) and ballet shoes--the kind with the square toe that you can stand up on--from Santa Claus. I took this as proof that she really liked it :).



We spent Christmas Eve with Pat's mom, Lois, and his two cousins, Eric and Keri. It was interesting in that his cousins are two of the loudest, most interrupting people I have encountered in my 25 years of life. Still, it was nice to celebrate with family and to be introduced to the "neverending present bag" that Lois gifts each of the grandchildren every year. It was a giant bag FILLED with so many trinkets and toys--only a grandmother would do such a thing to the child's parents! I didn't believe it! It was pretty cool, I won't lie!





















We woke up early Christmas morning--thanks to the excitement of 8-year old little girl realizing Santa had made his rounds the night before. She still believes, though we figure we only have one more year working the Santa Claus story because she noticed that "daddy writes his "G"s just like Santa..." Too stinkin cute! She also proclaimed that "it's a miracle" that Santa found her glasses that she'd lost--he left them on the table for her ;). After Christmas day, Patrick, Boots, Leo, and I made the icey trek to Helix for a day to visit my parents. We hoped to stay longer but I-84 was closed off and on, and the roads to Helix were closed due to the snow drifting. All in all, we got to see everyone briefly and I got my family fix for another month or so. :)


We started the new year feeling blessed beyond belief. I never thought my life would go this direction and now that it has I can think of no other way. Having Patrick and Aliya in my family is more than I've ever dreamed of. I am thankful every day that I am surrounded by love and in faith that good things happen for good people.
Miracles & Blessings

The Christmas Directions are Up!!!

...not at home, but in my office building! It was so pretty this morning to see ribbon and wreaths and the giant tree in the lobby! I love it! Happy Holidays everyone!!! 

Sisters

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my sisters. I have many and as they get older I'm finding myself wishing they wouldn't. Maegan has been married, pregnant, a mommy, and is now somewhere in the process of getting divorced. Kenzie is in high school and is experiencing boys, cheerleading, a vivid social life and has an attitude like none I've witnessed (and it makes me proud :)). Kacie is wise and is more mature than her age would lead one to believe. She's her own lady and I have so much love for her individuality. Charmayne is eight this year and unknowingly reminds me of my age each time I see her--with every birthday she experiences, it's another that I've been out of high school. 

My recent thoughts about these young women typically revolve around the realization that I am not a significant piece of their lives--at least not in the way that I want to be. Of course they look up to me as an example and as the fun older sister who lives in the Big City (aka Portland, OR--compared to Helix, it is big, ok?). However I want to be an influence on a deeper level. I want them to tell me their secrets, their struggles, their fears, and their "first times." I wish I could see them more often and take them places and show the some of the cool stuff that the world has to offer. I want to know what's going on in their lives, and not from reading their status feeds on facebook!

When I was in high school and before I left for college I had goals of what I wanted to be as a big sister to my siblings. Life got in the way and they grew up while I was furthering my education. I don't regret my college experience but I do wonder if I've missed out on to much? I do my best with the time that I have but there is simply no way to be on top of all of it. I guess I wish and hope that they think about me the way that I think and feel about them--that I miss them always, love them more than anything, and want nothing but success and positive experiences for them. 

I realize that my life is here and I want it no other way... If only I could be in two places at once. 

October Bliss

I can't believe the month is gone already! We've been busy with school, soccer, work, and the beginning of the holiday season. I have been in class on the weekends, which takes all the fun out of Fridays! Pat and Aliya went to the pumpkin patch a couple weekends ago, and we all carved the chosen ones last week after I got out of class! It was pretty fun and aside from her almost losing several of her digits, we were injury free :)

For Halloween Aliya was a Spider Witch this year--who knows what that is--but that's what she came up with in her mind, and that's what Grandma made for her. We were fortunate enough to attend her Halloween open house at Pixie (her childcare center)! She was so stinkin cute! Definitely the center of attention! The kids got to trick-or-treat throughout the center, there were games, and lots of activities to keep them all busy!

Pat and I went to our first Blazer game together Halloween night. I can't believe he's never been before! I mean, I LOVE the Blazers, so it's only destiny that he do too! I know he loved it and is fan already! ;) After that we dressed up and went to a few clubs in downtown PDX--it was a good time, and we definitely came home and CRASHED!

I am pretty much half way through my second-to-last full term of classes; I'll be done with December and then I'll have one more semester before I start my practicum. Fall 2009 I'll be in my internship and it's all undiscovered territory after that!

I am excited for the holiday break and a few weeks to relaxe before jumping right back into it!

Loves, heath

In the beginning...

After reading a couple of friends' blogs I have decided to share my life and the happenings in it via cyberspace. I have concluded that MySpace has become a place for the younger crowd, of which I am apparently growing out of (so my sister tells me), and I haven't been able to figure out Facebook, so this is it. I lack understanding in the desire to share the details of my life; if anything it's a good way to stay in touch ;)