May the road rise up to meet you.....

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand...

May 2011 ...(yeah I realize its ALREADY September!!)

This time of year is always busy in our family, and this year was no exception. May (14) is my niece Brianna’s birthday, Randy & my anniversary (17), the anniversary of my Maw-maw’s passing (26), and now it will also mark the anniversary of my sweet Paw-paw’s passing(25), OH and the Memorial Day holiday is tossed in for good measure, I guess God knew we needed an extra day of rest to recover. I thought I would share a few photos of these celebrations and gatherings, and a few cherished memories.

First I would like to remember those who have served our Country, so that we have the freedoms we enjoy everyday. God Bless You!

On to Brianna’s birthday, we had her party at Fairhope beach, the kids had a great time swimming in the surf and digging in the sand. It’s hard to believe little Brie is 12; she has turned into a beautiful young lady, from a tiny little baby (4lbs 12oz).

Randy and I also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on a for-real date at Guido’s (thanks Jessica & Ms. Merrill for playing with the kids). Dinner was nice, it was hard to talk about things other than the kids etc., at first, we really haven’t had much time away since the kids were born, and so to travel back in time to what we ever did before them seemed like a stretch. We really need to get away more often.



PawPaw Mr. Mardi Gras



The passing of my Grandfather brought me back to the year we were married, we lost my Maw-maw that next week (on Memorial Day). So I was at odds with which to write about first...I just went with the most recent.  My Paw-paw was a great man. He and my Nanny raised 9 children in the 60s-70s, all of whom were educated in Catholic schools, all were married in the Church, had families of their own, and became strong productive people. This is no small feat in my mind, these days  as I am now a parent, and I think back about how really unbelievable an achievement that is, so many teens in that generation were caught up in the hippy, anti-whatever movements, drugs etc. I only fractionally realize how difficult it is to parent 2 kids (much less 9) to be successful adults. I asked him once how they were able to raise so many kids, and he told me my Nanny did all that, he just went to work. Well, my Nanny was a great woman, but I know she didn’t do it alone, they prayed the rosary together every night, most nights as a family. And I am confident they spent their fair share of nights on their knees asking God for guidance and direction. There is also no doubt in my mind why he was ready to go to Heaven to be with her since the day she left this world 9 years ago. I know those two are in Heaven today celebrating their own wedding anniversary, this year together, hand in hand.



MawMaw Coheley



My maw-maw was a great lady as well, she was my favorite person, and I think I was her favorite grandchild. (Because she told everyone and anyone who asked her, that I was) She was a hard lady to handle some times, and had lived a hard life. Not that we ever really talked about her life much, in fact I never knew much about her other than from a grandchild’s view. She raised 3 kids in Crighton/Saraland, with my grandfather, whom died while my dad was in the Navy. She was a force to be rekon’d with, always contrary, to everyone else. To me she was Maw-maw, the best southern cook ever, tough as nails, tell-it-like-it-is, country-to the bone, honest, and loyal. I think we are a lot alike ;-) And I miss her so much.

On to Memorial Day which was spent at the beach with Randy and the kids. We decided Monday morning, that we had nothing better to do than sit on the beach with our toes in the sand and play with the kids. This was a perfect ending to a very busy month. 

Spring flowers...

 April Showers...bring MOM flowers!  Love it!

To celebrate SPRINGTIME, I thought I'd redecorate my office.  I collected all the flower art that the kids have been coloring at school and posted it on my bulletin board at work (I took down all the reminders and memos...who needs all those stupid memos anyway, right).  I am really trying to make the space feel more cheery for spring. 

But the more I hang pictures and art from the kids the more I miss their sweet little selves.  I hate working sometimes, and think about being a stay at home mom...but we really can't afford that (unless I would be willing to severely cut all unnecessary expenses) and it is not really fair to expect hubby to carry the weight of our family alone (he would stay home too if it were up to him, LOL). We are not lazy people at all, its not the working that either of us mind, its the exchange of time with the kids we both dislike.  SO this brings me to a deeper thought, how do you find a balance?  Maybe this subject is at the forefront of my mind as a few friends' of mine are welcoming new additions into their respective families, or maybe its the yoga practice I have now become accustomed to, but really WHERE IS THE BALANCE?  Has anyone seen my balance? 

Our events over the last month included a visit from my friend Junko and her 4 year-old son from Japan.  Shuma her son is a few weeks older than Nico and they have become really good friends.  He and Nico are great conversationalists ( funny), Shuma speaks English pretty well, so language is no barrier.   Traditionally, they visit the US once -maybe twice- a year, and we always take the kids to Chuck E Cheese to play. 

This year was no exception. We also stopped in at Pet Smart to see the dogs and fishes, (cheap activity and very fun).  Junko and Shuma were also guests in our house for the first time ever, Nico's first sleep-over!  The kids camped out in the living room and played with each and every one of Nico & Noelle's toys.  It was really great to see them and visit for a few days, with all that is happening in Japan, I was certainly thankful to see them.  Although, they have left Mobile to return to Japan, we never say "good-bye", we just say "see you next time!"

Celebrating my parents 37th wedding anniversary April 6th, and my #2 niece's seventeenth birthday, we had a family dinner at Mom & Dad's.  Someone asked my Dad "whats the secret to staying together 37 years?" well Dad's answer is worth mentioning..."its  never 50/50, sometimes its 100/0, or 0/100...sometimes its 30/70...you just have to be flexible and pick up where the other lets off.  You have to be willing to be the 100% at the drop of a hat, with no notice.  I don't think I have ever been the 100, or if I have I sure didn't know it, Joan she is really awesome, things always just work out when she's around.  Raising you kids was/is the joy of her life, I was just her helper."  OK he went on, and on, but I can't paraphrase the rest of the conversation since I really was teary-eyed by this point in the conversation.  Talk about LOVE...guys this is it, the real deal. 

I took the kids to play at the Malbis fountains on Friday, (very much worth one PTO day) we had a great time!  Except for Noelle taking a tumble poor girl and ending up with boo boos on both legs and one foot...she recovered quickly and went right back to playing, she is such a trooper. The sun was warm and the water was great, I really enjoy watching the kids running and playing, how they interact with other kids.  They are really amazing!

               

Hubby and I also took the kids to the annual Strawberry Festival, which is always HOT, but fun. There is a small 'carnival' as Nico calls it, with fair rides, and the ever important Tractor exhibit is a MUST! This year Nico had his picture taken by a reporter for the Press-Register, doing what you ask...well playing on a tractor of course! It was on the front page of Sunday's metro section. Even Noelle enjoyed all the tractors! As expected the main event is the strawberry shortcake, which I was forced to eat alone, as the kids were more interested in the ice cream being made by that cool tractor contraption.

             

So as I am writing this blog recounting the steps over the last few weeks, I guess my balance is in check after all.  I have participated a great deal in the doings and goings of my family, much more than I first realized.  So bring on SPRINGTIME, I think we are ready for all the fun we can fit into the work-weeks, and weekends.  Being present in the time we spend together, being the partner in my marriage, and the mom that just gets it done, these are my aspirations.  I now have inspiration, and for that I am thankful.  Thank you God for this lesson, and please continue to guide me to do Your will.  Thanks also to all of you, friends,  who love and support my family.  We are blessed.  

This too shall pass...

February has always been the month of LOVE, a month in my life which has been marked with great losses. All of the losses I have felt in my life stem from the great loves I have known in my lifetime. I wanted to take a minute to reflect on these losses and loves.  One of my favorite passages in the bible is 1 Corinthians 13.              

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.



Pebbles Coheley Pizzotti
January 12, 1994 - February 22, 2011

 I have recently lost my sweet puppy of 17 years, Pebbles, she was my heart.  She was always around to nudge me when I was sad and bounce when I was happy.  She loved to run and play although in recent years she did so in shorter spurts.  We had been through high school drama, new love, true loves, moving out, marriage, old dogs, new dogs, new home, pregnancy fears, newborn tears, toddler tantrums...she has been there for it all.  Words can not really express the amount of JOY she brought to my life, and to Randy and the kids as well.  She will be greatly missed, and forever in our hearts. (Christmas 2010.)
 
 



Mary Boudreaux Patrick
June 12, 1916 - February 12, 2002

 I also lost my Nanny in February 2002.  She was a wonderful mother to 9 kids, and Nanny to 26 grand kids.  She was a picture of LOVE, it radiated from her hands, in her arms and from her eyes.  The moral compass I use in all my life decisions came from her love and guidance.  I just take a moment to wonder "what would Nanny say/do/think?" and the path becomes very clear.  She taught me about love and life, although she didn't see me get married, or become a mother, I know she would be proud.  And I hope I can offer that type of unconditional love to my family and friends. Father Cu, at St. Monica Parish in Mobile, told her on her last day that Jesus was looking for her, and she asked "why?" She opened her bright eyes for the first time in days and smiled at him.  He told her "Mary when you get to heaven, throw us a rope down so that we my find our way".  Those words have been with me ever since, he knew without question that she was going to Heaven.  She loved the Lord with all her heart and it showed.  (Yep that's me with her in 1979).
 



Butch Coheley Pizzotti
Adopted January 2000 - October 9, 2001

 

Another puppy that taught me about starting over was our labador, Pizzotti's Pester, Chester. Randy and I had been living in Fairhope for 10 months when our first lab, Butch was hit by a car October 9, 2001.  We were heart broken, losing a pet is never easy.  Butch was special, he was so big and block-headed, sweet and dumb, just a plain clumbsy lab.  After losing him, we decided we would get another lab, and chose Chester from a litter in November.  He was adorable and fun, and seemed to heal our pain.  Pebbles loved the company and so did we, although we quickly learned that he could not stay in his kennel all day while we worked if we planned to get any sleep at night.  Our solution was to take him to Grandmother's house during the day so that my father-in-law who worked nights could run him so he would be less wild at night.  In January Chester was quickly approaching 100lbs and was learning to fetch the morning paper and other tricks from my father-in-law.  Chester had an accident one afternoon in late January, he tumbled out of the back of the pick-up truck while going down the road with him.  Chester spent 9 days in the vet's office (puppy-ICU), he had pins in his hips, and a cast on his leg.  His kidneys were weak, he died on February 9, 2002.  He was 7 months old.



Pizzotti's Pester Chester
August 31, 2001 - February 9, 2001





Step by step...

I often get in a hurry in this crazy little life of mine, whether I am at work trying to meet a deadline, or at home just trying to get dinner on the table (before 8pm), the dishes or laundry done, kids bathed, dogs fed, calls returned...need I go on.  Anyway, life these days feels like a race, the kids are busy normal 2 and 4 year olds...this is how its is supposed to be, right?  I began about a month ago taking a yoga class in Daphne.  No contract, so the cost and loss when missed is not felt in my pocketbook, so no excuses.  I have to admit I love yoga, I love the "me" time, the quiteness, the breathing, the relaxation, and the stretching is not bad either.  So twice a week I sneak away (thank you Randy) for my 75 minutes of pure bliss.  I am feeling less stressed, and generally much happier.  Its nice that life sort of slows down when you LET it.  Dana shared a very well written passage at one of our recent classes that has really stuck in my mind. I googled it so that I could share it with all of you. 

"Walk Slowly" by Danna Faulds
It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still, and just like that, something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection.
The harsh voice of judgement drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn't a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up to life is what we are born for.
As many times as I forget, I catch myself charging forward without even knowing where I am going, that many times I can make the choice to stop, to breathe, and walk slowly into the mystery.

hmmm...food for thought!

Joy...an adventure

Wow I am really bad at updating this blog. I want to begin again. Our story is long and funny, and we are really still trying to figure it all out. So for sanity's sake I will give you a few highlights. Randy and I met in Spring of 1996, and were married in Spring 2003. We got pregnant 10 years after we originally met in Spring of 2006. Our son William Nicolas (Nico) was born December 13th, at 3:45pm. He was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches or pure JOY. He was an easy baby and although the whole "new-parent" process is largly a "learning to roll with the punches" situation, its been wonderful. We got pregnant again in the Spring of 2008, and welcomed our baby girl Noelle Katherine, on December 6th, at 10:24pm. She was another 6 pounds 15 ounces, 19 1/2 inches of pure JOY. Noelle has been a great teacher since her arrival. She has taught me that I am to laugh at myself often and never underestimate the power of blue eyes. She is almost completley incharge around our house these days. She has been determined to be a little bigger/faster/bettr than her "big" brother. The kids are 2 and 4 now and nearly the same size (weight and height) Both have sweet blue eyes that you can't really say "No" to, and awsome blonde hair that most women I know would kill for. They are the true JOY of our lives.