Good Bye 2011

2011...it's slowly starting to unwind and I can't believe how far we've come. To begin with, Anna turned 4, Buba 2, Johnny 32 and I 28. But those are all things that sort of expected, right? One more year....and you grow older.

Little changes in life...

Buba learned how to walk on his own...and run...and talk...and well, he changed a lot!

Johnny got another pair of gray hairs.

My waistline got a tad bigger (why hide what is obvious?).

Anna....Anna just got lovelier.


Huge changes have also taken place in 2011...

We moved yet farther away from our heart. Cause you know, home is where the heart is, and all that jazz. Apparently we didn't think 1,229mi weren't enough so we tacked on another 1,329mi. Distance is a funny thing.

Johnny started and finished an internship...and then moved on to his next job.

Anna started Preschool in preparation for Kindergarten.

The Sanders Family has learned a lot from each other and the fun never ends.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

As you can see, December has been a very good year to us. It's such a blessing to be able to say good bye to an old year and hello to a new year. Resolutions? None. I do have goals though...1. Love more. 2. Live more. 3. See more. 4. Listen more. Those are given though. I would also like to see how many books I read in a year. Sew at least 3 quilts. A big one is to save enough money to make it to TN not once but twice in 2012.

God's Speed!

Note worthy...

So, turns out that Johnny's aunt, forgot which one...but anyway, she has a burial plot right next to her late husband's (she's remarried now). Apparently, she still plans to use it. After Johnny got of the phone with her, this his how the conversation went...





Johnny: Wouldn't it be weird if I had a plot next to my first wife and still wanted to use it.





Me thinking: what?!...uh, yeah.


Me: Well, not if she died when you guys were still "in" love. Just as long as I could still get one next to you.


Me thinking: She's still alive...hope he got the msg...





Johnny: (tells me about his aunt...blah...blah...blah...)


Me thinking: Oh, ok so he doesn't have one...





Johnny: I just think it's weird. I wouldn't like it.


Me: Well, it's kinda like this...who do you think you'll be married to when we get to heaven?


Johnny: You.


Me thinking: Good answer.


Me: Well, what about Heidi?


Johnny: She wont be there.


Me: :-D





What do you think? Would you buy a plot next to your dead spouse? What if you remarried? What do you then? I know, nobody PLANS to remarry...but it happens. What if your spouse now was in that situation...would you let him/her still use the spot? Can you change your mind after already buying one? Hmmm....

A Birthday and Inspirations...

Birthday

This little ray of sunshine turned 2 last week. I still remember when only almost 3 yrs ago...Johnny and I would lay awake deep into the night talking about a boy we thought we might never have....yet here he is. Toughest little boy I know.





Buba, you love...



....bananas.



....toy cars.



....Trains...anything trains.



....chocolate is ok, but not all the rave.



....your sister.



....to torment your sister.



....your daddy. You think he's the bravest, strongest, funniest man on earth. He is.



....me, or at least I hope. You might be upset with me right now. I know how much you loved your chi-chi...but trust me. You will thank me later.




My little man is growing up so fast. Before I know it, he'll be off to school and wont need me so much as he does now. Right now all I can do is love him and squeeze him and much as I can.

Inspiration

I don't blog much. Mostly because...honestly I don't know. I like to say I don't have time, but that would be a lie. I can do this, I just don't. I don't video tape much, even though everybody tells me I should cause I'll forget...I'm starting to forget. Yet, I still wont turn on the video camera. Most days I wont take a picture. I will take a picture today...and not just a metal one. This past weekend I bumped into my journals from when I was in at Tech...from 2001-2003 skipped a couple of years and I was in 2005...as I sat there and read....I was awed. That was me...then. I knew so little, appreciated so little...but I loved. I loved so much and I continue to love. Not just people....but ideas...and things (I don't know what I would do without a needle and thread...and BOOKS!). I know that 10 years from now I will look back and be awed yet again. The thing is, I haven't kept a journal in almost 6yrs. So...this blog will be it. My own little piece of Internet...where I will talk about my thoughts, prayers, wishes....sewing projects and many other things. cause what else do I have to talk about?...right?

So...today is a good day.

Liza

Confessions...

I feel like I went to bed on September 12, 2009 and I'm barely waking up. How did we get here? Everybody always told me it was important to take pictures...to video everything because you would soon forget things. I haven't forgotten anything, it all just seems like a dream. Always hidden behind a veil. Don't get me wrong, I love my little Buba, but I feel as though with his coming...my mind has decided to go on vacation.

We are finally getting to were things are coming together. Crazy, when you think about it...he'll be two in a couple of month. I sometimes feel real guilty. Like I've robbed Anna of something. Yeah, I thought that having a sibling around would be great for her. She wouldn't be an only child. I come from a somewhat big family. I love my brothers and sister. I don't know what I would do without them. So, naturally, Anna "needed" a brother or sister. She got a brother. Now, I look back and I miss her. I miss being just us girls. Every now and then Johnny takes Buba to do "boy things" and Anna and I go do "girl things". It's fun, and I can see it in her eyes. She misses me too.

Yet, I don't know how I ever managed without Buba. My sunshine. He came and turned our world upside down and now we all try to pick up the pieces and put them back together. The picture isn't the same...it's perfect now.

I think that for the longest time we have been on survival mode. Things were so much easier with just one child...*sigh*...but things are so much sweeter with two.

4. Cuatro. Four...

My funny girl is 4. I still can't believe it. We've been eating cake since this weekend and more to come tomorrow. Cause it's not every day that a little girl turns 4. Ok, honestly by now...she probably thinksthere is no such thing as a birth "day" but a birthWEEK!

This little girl has changed my whole world. Words can't even describe how she makes me feel when I get to hold her and shower her with kisses (cause she's a big girl now).

Mi bebe. Here are a few things about you Anna...

You love your brother. You really do.

You are more into Dinosaurs and anything that has to do with exploring than you are into dolls and all things tea sets. But you also like to do all these things while wearing big poofy dresses.

You are a real princess.

You love chocolate. (Thanks, Papi.)

You are the shyest little girl I know. I know it's hard for you to warm up to people but when you do..they stay in your heart forever. It still amazes me how you remember those you love even when you don't get to speak to them, much less see them everyday.

You love music.

I still don't know who you got your dancing skills from...but you have some serious moves.

My heart breaks every single time you cry, even if it is just cause Pepe keeps wanting to hide under the sofa. I promise he'll come out in less than 3 seconds looking for you.

Hermana Mayor.

Para siempre the querre,

pare siempre the amare.

Mientras en mi alla vida,

siempre seras mi bebe.

-Robert Munsch

Changes...

Our family has been going through some changes lately. Which has left me feeling all out of sorts. Change is good though, especially when you consider what these changes are. I no longer have a baby...but a toddler. One who is far more adventuress than his sister EVER was. Nothing is safe! All of our baby safety measures that worked for Anna...well they don't work for this little guy. Life is interesting.

Lets add this little guy to the mix....

My mom's dog had puppies a couple of days before Thanksgiving. Which means they were ready to leave their mommy right around Christmas time....Christmas present!!! :) His name is Pepe. You would think I had enough babies.....Life with him has also been interesting.

So, from the begining of December till now...almost the end of January...my life as I knew it...is over. Well, except for one thing. I don't know how, but I have gotten a lot of quilting done. More on that later. I have to go check on Pepe...I think the cat is trying to "hunt" him.

*sigh*

Thanksgiving is still taking a toll on me. After having Johnny home for 4 days...I think it's going to take the kids a while to get back into their routine.

Thanksgiving dinner was GREAT! We had a few of Johnny's soldiers come over for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm not sure what they enjoyed the most....the dinner that I cooked or playing with Anna's and Buba's toys. I should have taken a picture. It looked like I had had a classroom of preschoolers come through. :)

Our tree is up and the presents are wrapped and under it. This is the first year that I didn't wait till Christmas Eve to put the presents under and all day Anna has thought that it was Christmas Eve already.

What will this Christmas bring for us?...