Monday, November 26, 2007

Kids...

I couldn't be more proud of my kids...

Kyle is going to be 17 already on Wednesday, November 28. It seems just yesterday he was carrying around his sesame street figures (Grover was his favorite) and singing away. Kyle was a persistent child, but I can't say I don't blame him. There is so much to see and do and touch when you're a child. His Dad and I didn't help matters much when he was younger...we gave in way too easy. Maybe it was because he was our first child (I'm sure that's it!) and we didn't realize what a MONSTER we were creating...but he was so darn cute!!

Seriously, overall Kyle has grown up into a WONDERFUL young man and both his Dad and I couldn't be prouder of all his accomplishments...

Academically Successful...enjoys writing poetry~
Athletically Couragous..."Daredevil" on a board~
Talentally Humerous...to where your sides ache~
And so much more...

Kaylee is our "Sweetheart"...she turned 15 this past August. She grew up on Winnie-the-pooh and frolicing with her brother. She followed Kyle everywhere! I especially enjoyed watching them play house together with the backyard funiture and seeing Kyle give his sister rides in his tractor wagon...it was adorable!!

She enjoyed dress-up and wearing Mom and Dad's shoes...she still likes to dress-up every now and then, but teenage outfits of course is her "fancy" nowdays.

Like all teenagers, Kaylee loves to talk on the phone with her girlfriends...she never strays too far from her cell phone. She also enjoys babysitting the girls in our neighborhood (kaitlyn and Danielle).,,she takes good care of them and they seem to enjoy Kaylee a lot too! However, her real joy these days is hanging out with her boyfriend, Dillion (aka: "Dill-Pickle"). They seem to have a great time spending time together watching movies, chatting on the phone, tagging eachother on myspace, and just enjoying each others time.

It has been a joy watching Kaylee grow up into such a beautiful young lady, from the inside out! She will "forever" be "Our Princess".

Last but not least...there's Keifer! Talk about totally opposite of the other two. When he was an infant, you barely knew he was alive...totally quite and content staring at all that surrounded him. I always thought there was something not quite right with him mentally, but doctors' would tell me otherwise...until recently he was diagnosed with AS.

Keith has always had learning disabilities along with speech difficulties, but nothing too serious. He's had some great support during his early preschooling and then also in second and third grade...the teachers' worked well with him and his success increased full-tilt! However, there were times during his elementary that weren't nearly as successful...teachers that were new and/or didn't have much special educational training, which Keith suffered tremendously.

Now, a teenager, Keith enjoys playing internet games and is learning to skateboard like his big brother. He is very good with his hands...has always enjoyed taking apart things to see how they work and then putting them back together. He'll draw occasionally and watch a movie now and then, but his joy right now is having friends and being liked.

I love each one of you unconditionally and will always be there for you no matter what - you're my "ANGELS".

Love You BUNCHES,
MOM (Muah!!)

Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Different Christmas Poem (God Bless America~)

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
"Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts...
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me."

"My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am."

"I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat."

"I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

God Bless our service men and women, each and every one!!

Hugs,
Christine