Ok, so now that...

it's been five months since Mom has passed, things are getting a lot easier. We've had a schedule with taking care of our dad for a while now; my three siblings and I are still getting along great (although at times my sister and I still "get into it", it's NO WHERE NEAR what it used to be). My birthday/Easter is coming up (they're on the same day this year), so I'm kind of not looking forward to that, but I'm gonna try real hard to keep it together and celebrate; I know Mom wouldn't want me to be sad on my birthday.

I can't say to what extent, but things are gonna be changing for our family soon. So please be in prayer that all works out.

Dad's still doing pretty good. As I stated before, one of us kids (usually it's just the three "locals" - my sister, brother in Carlsbad or I; my other brother comes down whenever he can) are there every night, fixing him/us dinner and staying the night.

Can't say what this is either, but in the next week and a half, I'm gonna be working on a family project with one of my cousins in Chicago. It's gonna be hard being 2000 miles apart, but should be a lot of fun putting it together.

This is...

my family. My cousin (next to me) and uncle (fourth one in from left; both in the "middle row") flew in from Chicago. This was taken at the restaurant after my mom's service at the cemetary.

What took place ten...

days ago makes me so proud and blessed to be, not only an American, but to be witness to history being made. I often think about the first time voters, and what they must have thought about being able to participate in such an historic election. I know how I feel being able to, and in a small way, I'm right there with them; for this is my first time being part of such an event (even though I've been able to vote now for over 20 years). I just PRAY that our new President can make good on the promises he's made...I think the entire country is sick of presidents not following through on what they promise in their Inaugural Speeches.

Ok, so now that...

we're in a new year, I'm sort of depressed about it because it means I/we have to face an entire year w/o Mom. I do continue to think that there's a party going on up there, and that she SO INCREDIBLY happy to be to be up there with her family; but I SO want her HERE! I still get mad at the fact that she left us so unexpectedly, but it is lessening with each passing day.

To get Dad out of the house, we all (11) went out to dinner on Saturday. It was so great to all be together; and my dad was in his glory with seeing his grandchildren. It's becoming more of a struggle to take care of him (Dad) these days, but he's still in his house, and doing pretty good with all of us "rotating" in. I hope we can do this every couple of weeks, or when schedules allow.

I hope everyone has a great 2009. I can't wait to hear updates on how everyone's year is going so far.

I CANNOT TELL YOU...

how glad I am to see 2008 end. It has absolutely been THE WORST year (the last three months of it, anyway) for our family. All of you who've been following along know, so I'm not gonna repeat myself. All I can hope and pray for is that 2009 will be THE BEST year for us. I pray that this next year will bring a new medication to help slow down the progression of our dad's Alzheimer's. I pray that we can get through the next set of "firsts" w/o Mom (i.e., Easter, birthdays, their anniversary) as well as we did the holidays. Finally, I pray that my family and I are able to travel to Chicago, to see our wonderful cousins, uncles and aunt.

May you all have a blessed and safe New Year.

Merry Christmas

My wish for everyone is to have a very Blessed Christmas and a joyous and prosperous New Year.

An already extremely difficult Christmas was made even harder for our family, with the loss of another aunt (my mom's oldest brother's wife) last week from a stroke. The things that keep us going are our faith, watching the kids enjoying Christmas and knowing that we have the INCREDIBLE family that we do (both immediate and extended)....we are TRULY BLESSED.

Tonight, we went over to my brother's in Carlsbad, which is on the coast. There was also my sil's entire family over. Tomorrow, we're going to my other brother's in OC, after Mass and a visit to my mom's gravesite.

Enjoy each other, and remember the Reason for the Season....

This week, with Thanksgiving...

in a few days, is just AWFUL for me and my family. I don't want to do the holidays this year, but in my heart of hearts, I know that Mom would want us to, and for us not to be moping around and be sad (not only that, but I know it's important for the kids' sake to move forward). Even though it's gonna be INCREDIBLY HARD, I know that we still have an awful lot to be thankful for; that we still have our dad, that the four of us have gotten SO MUCH cloer than we ever have been (that my sister's and my relationship HAS GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER), that we have the extended family (Mom's) that we do, but most importantly, that God is taking care of our mom, and she's with her brothers, sisters and parents, whom she has missed SO MUCH.

For Thanksgiving, we're gonna be going up to OC, to my brother's. My other brother and his family will be in the desert with my sil's family (we decided not to go).

I'll post as to our plans on what we're doing for Christmas, other than our family party previously mentioned, when the time comes...... one holiday at a time.

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving