Oh friends...

I know I have been MIA for quite some time...and I apologize. I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore... anyhow, LOADS of changes since I last wrote. Lets get started:

I guess we will start first with the not so good news...

In early August of 2010, my beloved grandpa, my moms dad, passed away. We were devastated but took great comfort in knowing that he lead a full and wonderful life filled with love.

And though it may seem weird, we find solace in knowing that he is now safe at home with my momma...They were both some kinda magic and we will all miss them forever.

and now onto the good news... My cousin Jennifer and her husband Mike welcomed their new bundle of joy into the world in August. His name is Isaiah Marcel and he is just the bees knees...and such a good boy!

My cousin Mikey, the Navy man, came home two weeks ago from a 7 month long deployment in Afghanistan...oh boy did we miss him!

My cousin Ashley got married this past weekend to a wonderful guy named Brandyn and now shes a Lopez! She was a beautiful bride and it was so nice to see my family laughing, dancing and having a great time together!

And now for two zingers...number one, my dad has decided to sell my parents house and move to New Zealand...to live full time... I will miss him terribly, but I honestly couldn't be happier for him.

and...dun dun dun...Michael and I are expecting our first baby, a little fella, in September! Wholy cow, right?! we gots a load of stuff happening and all of its exciting!

As we approach the two year mark of my mom's passing, the universe presented me with this fantastic piece of inspiration and a wonderful way for me and my family to honor my mom... we are signing up as a team and walking in honor of my mom in the 3rd Annual San Diego Breath of Hope Lung Cancer Walk on May 1, 2011.

We have appropriately named our team

KAZZA'S ARMY

we would love for any of you to join us or donate to the cause.

PLEASE CLICK HERE

This link will give you all of the information that you need to know.

We appreciate and love you for who you are and all that you do!

xo

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”

Anthony Brandt

On this day in 1953

my favorite person ever was born...my mom.
So, tonight, friends, think of her with love and happiness...let it fill up your soul and burst right through to your heart.
And while youre at it...eat a slice of something fantastic her honor...perhaps some pecan pie...a heaping mound of peach pie...her two favorites...and smile.

hugs and love

Mom

“I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new, I thought about you yesterday and days before that too.

I think of you in silence, I often speak your name, all I have are memories and your picture in a frame.

Your memory is my keepsake, with which I’ll never part. God has you in his keeping, I have you in my heart."

I miss you more today than yesterday and only half as much as tomorrow

Today marks the one year anniversary of my mom’s passing, I can’t help but reflect on the year and the monumental changes that have happened.

I am a mommas girl through and through and I have honestly surprised myself by making it this far. I didn’t think that I would ever last a day without her. There have been many, many days that I felt that I wanted to just crumble onto the ground …but like I said, I am a mommas girl and that means that I won’t allow myself to do that…plus I have a huge fear of her coming and smacking me from the afterlife for behaving less than she would have wanted me to.

My pain hasn’t lessened any, it’s just projected in a different way and I will forever walk around with a ginormous whole in my heart.

My family and I have lost an integral part of our being, the thread that held our family fabric together and we have had the hardest year that anyone can imagine…but, we are all still standing…and some days that its only attributed to the fact that we have someone else holding us up…and that’s okay, thank god we have each other. I know, for myself, that I wouldn’t have made it here if it weren’t for my amazing family and for my very compassionate and understanding friends. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people.

I’ve learned a lot of things this year…I’ve learned that I’m stronger than I never thought I was, I’ve learned that each day I am more like my mom and that really makes me smile and I’ve learned that love isn’t what makes the world go ‘round, it’s what makes the ride worthwhile.

glee

Yes, that is a term of joy...but more importantly, its the television show that my cousin Emily is trying out for!
She needs votes so friends please go here and watch the video of her singing:

EMILY SINGS!

and then go here and vote for her:

GLEE AUDITION

Now, you have to have a MySpace account in order to vote...so if you dont have one, maybe you can make one real quick? ;)

And please, please tell your friends.
Help make her dream come true!

Come on friends! You can doooooo it!!

hugs xx

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

The Biggest Best News Yet!

As most of you know, my cousin Jennifer is pregnant with her third baby...and we are all over the moon about it! So exciting!
Well, on Sunday, the whole famdamily, Jennifer, Big Daddy Mike, and their passel of kids, Kion, Kayla, Junior and Kiana, Aunt Nancy, Steven, Emily and I, went down to Jenna's ultra sound 4D appointment to find out the sex of our new baby.
And just as we thought, we have a little baby boy coming and we should be meeting him around August 30th! I cant wait!
Thank god this place was big enough to fit us all in there so we could share this amazing experience together. I think the cutest thing about the day (aside from toasting his impending arrival with yummy VG's donuts) was when Kayla saw him she said, "Oh he's so cute! Can I hold him?" and then later she asked me "Is that boy coming out yet?" She's so stinkin cute and seems to be very excited about the new baby.

So with out further ado, let me introduce you to the newest member of our family, "That Boy"...




Now, we just have to find him a name...

A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.
-- Eda J. Le Shan

The TLE

Three years ago today, we lost a very silly, loving, sarcastic, friend, brother, nephew and son.
I am so honored to have known him and so thankful that our paths crossed. He had this great sense of humor and this quiet gentleness about him...but by far my favorite memories of him will always be the ones in which I come from work and to find him just chillin on my couch, being a Schmeck, uninvited but always welcome.

Timothy Lannon Easton

I am sending extra love to my Easton Familia and hold them firmly in my heart today.

"Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

Good News Part Duex

As I said in the last post, we have had quiet a few changes in our lives lately and all of them good. Yea for us!
so, let's talk about good news number two...
Somewhere around January of last year, my cousin Mikey enlisted in the Navy. My mom was absolutely beaming with pride as well as everyone else in our family...especially my grandfather and our cousin Big Mike who were both Navy men themselves.
Well, Mikey left for boot camp in January and on March 5, 2010, he graduated as an E2! I act like I know what that means, but the truth is that I have no earthly idea...all I really know is that he graduated THIRD in a class of 700 something recruits!
We are so dang proud of our lil sailor!
Go Mikey!
Go Navy!




hugs xx

“When asked what I am most proud of, I stick out my chest, hold my head high and state proudly, 'I served in the United States Navy!'”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Its Official

I am the worst person on the planet. I havent updated this thing in about a thousand years. Generally, my excuse is that I havent anything to talk about...but, after three months of not posting, you better believe I have stuff to talk about...I mean, how lame would I be if I didnt?! ugh.

There have been some changes going on in our lives lately...but the best one, hands down is this:
My best friend, who also happens to be my cousin, Jennifer, is expecting a baby in August! We are so thrilled and absolutely overjoyed at the thought of a new baby to play with! And it goes without saying that my mom would have been out shopping THE second the news arrived...she loved her some babies! haha.

So, please, friends, rejoice with us and pray that we have a happy, healthy little baby...a boy baby! hahaha.

hugs forever.

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for”

Hiddy Ho There Neighbors!

Here we are, just a few short days before we take off and I am freaking thrilled! Agh!!!!! I just cant wait to get on outta here and kick my shoes off and run around barefoot in the New Zealand soil.
Which brings me to this....
I have decided to start a travel blog called "Anywhere But Here"
(click those cute pink letters above)


I figured that we could use this blog for the everyday magic and the other one for vacay magic, no? I also thought it would be really cool to not only document our travels, but the travels of our family and friends, too. So, if you have a big holiday coming up or just came back from one and wanna share, we would love to see them...just forward them onto my email and I will hook it up! Or....I will give you the secret codes and you can blog it up your self!

Or...if you have nothing going on, have a sit and give the travel blog a read and drop some love on it.

You guys are the best!
Hugs!
xx

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson