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!!)

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

Medical advice (any suggestions welcomed)

I feel it's necessary to inform family and friends at this time of a medical condition that seems to be getting more aggressive with time and would like to know any suggestions or comments that would help set my mind at ease...

Maybe you've heard of someone having these same symptoms and/or scenarios and can help point me in the right direction. I've been to several different doctor's who give me the same advice as the next, but it is only when I'm hospitalized do they seem to be concerned. After looking up my past admissions they give me the same diagnosis...they hem and they haw, (obviously baffled) and pretty much medicate my nerves for the time being and send me on my way.

The first time I was admitted to the hospital was back in the summer of '95. My neurological functioning flat-lined and I was treated for a stroke. At the time of admission I was young, fit, and no prior medical problems...so I was treated, medication given to ease the surfacing symptoms and then I was sent on my way. I never had anything come up until almost eight years later. Again, neurological symptoms flat-lined and I was admitted to ER, medication administered for stroke-like symptoms, doctor's asked questions, treatment followed, medicated for surfacing symptoms (anxiety), and sent on my way. Symptoms flared a couple of years after that and the same procedures followed. However, each time I've been hospitalized it leaves my nervous system scarred whereas I notice I now stutter at times and have trouble with memory functions (remember things, forgetting one thing to the next within seconds, etc.). I've also noticed that these times of flare-ups are increasing between intervals. Also, I was diagnosed with asthma four years ago which I've since learned due to my hesitance to go to the doctor about my breathing problems when they first surfaced has caused more damage in the long run. As I'm nearing forty, it scares me to think where I'll be at ten years from now, any suggestions (acupuncture, natural remedies, herbs, etc.)??

Hugs~

Slow Dance (This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital)

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"Hi"

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift.... thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Just Because...

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT - Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you, or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins and extended family all bless our life. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead, nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still.

God Bless You All~

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture