Lily Bug

Brie and I went to see Lily Bug last night. She's so cotton pickin' cute! I can't believe how darling she is. Brie's still positively in love with her. It's hard not to be. Of course we couldn't go see Lily without taking something for her. We had stopped by Walmart earlier in the evening to pick up a collar for her (she's changed her looks quite a bit and we didn't want to get her mixed up with the other little female). We came across this cute little coat. She'll need it when she comes home. I'm such a sucker! With a face like that, I'm in deep do-do.

My Crazy Co-Workers

Here are a few pictures of some of the wonderfully crazy people I work with. To say that New Salem is a great place to work would be an understatement. I truly enjoy going in each day. There are so many smiling faces. It really is fun getting to do what I do.And I have a great teacher I work with. He's entertaining, enthusiastic, and has a true love of teaching. I have the privilege of seeing him in action with his students each day. How cool is that?!

Christmas Highlights

Christmas morning was a little unusual for us this year. Since Emile moved out, I've been trying to adjust to sharing her with her "new" family. It hasn't been easy. I've pretty much taken the back seat and let her do what she's going to do with them first. That way I'm not disappointed in the long run. I will be honest though, I cannot understand how she can put everyone else first..... But then again, I know deep down inside that this is the way she has always been. Brie and I (our family) have always been a distant second in her life. Anyway, we made the necessary adjustments and ended up having a fun morning.

Emile, Matt and Dakota arrived around 10:20. Dakota was pretty hyped up and full of energy. Em and Matt??? Not so much. They were more on the tired side. Such is life when you have a 2½ year old. I had to laugh a little. Choices and consequences.
First thing I did was get pictures of Em and Brie. No, they weren't in matching P.J.s this time. I guess that phase of life is past. I did get Brie some Christmas P.J.s but then I forgot which box I had put them in under the tree. Duh. Oh well, we still survived.Everyone, including Samantha seemed to have a fun time opening their gifts.Before we knew it, it was all over. Well the opening gifts part. Doesn't that always seem to be the case?

After a short nap Emile, Matt, and Dakota left and went to Matt's moms house (or someone's house) for a meal and more gifts. Around 3:30 or so Brie and I left the house and headed over to pick Chelsey up to spend the night. After that we went to my nephews home for a family dinner. It was a very nice evening. Good times spent with those who bring the most smiles to my face. After we wrapped up that visit, we ran out to see Lily for a few minutes. It was past 9 before we finally made it home. What a whirlwind day. I was more than ready to get into bed. After fun, family, food, and festivities, I was ready for some sound sleep. Another most enjoyable Christmas had come to an end.

Seven Months and Counting

Here we are. Another pictorial update. Yay!!!!

I'm officially below 200 pounds now! I truly can't remember when I weighed less than 200 pounds. I know that it's been at least 20+ years. I'm feeling great and doing super well. Can't wait to see what next month.... AND next year brings.

Quiet Reflection

Christmas Traditions

Eighteen years ago a very important event took place in my life. I became a mother. As Emile's first Christmas approached, I was overjoyed at the prospect of spending the holidays with a baby of my own. She was only two months old... but that didn't matter. I still had a wonderful day with her. One day I was working on her baby book. One of the questions asked was about Christmas traditions celebrated when her dad and I were growing up. Neither of us could really remember any specific things done year after year. I remembered reading from the Bible on Christmas Eve and opening one gift that night, but that's about it. Right then and there I decided things would be different for my own children when it came to Christmas traditions.

At some point during the next year, I came across a very special book.I can't remember how much I paid for it... perhaps around $10.00... but this single purchase became the beginning of what would eventually lead to many special Christmas memories. By Emile's second Christmas she was a little over a year old. She was beginning to enjoy storybooks. Most of the stories in the book were a little too long, but she still enjoyed looking at the pictures.

As time moved by, Brie came into our family. What was fun with one child was doubled with her arrival. Within a few years I was doing all kinds of fun things with the girls. Besides the obvious "trimming the tree" tradition, here are some other special traditions which were started for my girls....

1. Visit with Santa Claus
2. Reading a Christmas story each night. What started out "little" ended up becoming something that even I looked forward to. Eventually I had collected enough books that I'd begin reading Thanksgiving evening and continue straight through to the middle of January.Here are just a few of our "favorites." There are many, many more to pick from.
3. The Candy ChainEach evening after we finished reading our Christmas story, the girls got to take a piece of candy off the chain. Obviously there were two chains and each one had 24 pieces of candy counting down the days to Christmas. It became too much for me to make this each year so I found something a little different.I'd tuck a little piece of candy in each pocket and the girls would move the emblem each evening after they took the candy out. It ended up working just fine.
4. The Pickle OrnamentI'd hide the pickle on the tree. Each Christmas morning the girls would search the tree to try and find it first. Whoever found it received the "pickle gift" and a year of good luck. The gift itself was something small and family oriented so everyone could enjoy it.
5. The Santa KeyI had to make sure I hung the Santa Key so that Santa would be able to get in the house since we didn't have a fireplace.
6. The Spider OrnamentWe also placed a spider on our Christmas tree. This was the result of the following legend.

~A long time ago in Germany, a mother was busily cleaning for Christmas. The spiders fled to the attic to escape the broom. When the house became quiet the spiders slowly crept downstairs for a peek. Oh what a beautiful tree! In their excitement they scurried up the trunk and out along each branch. They were filled with happiness as they climbed amongst the glittering beauty. But alas! By the time they were through climbing, the tree was completely shrouded in their dusty grey spider webs.

When Santa Claus came with the gifts for the children and saw the tree covered with spider webs, he smiled as he saw how happy the spiders were, but knew how heartbroken the mother would be if she saw the tree covered with the dusty webs. So he turned the webs to silver and gold. The tree sparkled and shimmered and was even more beautiful than before.

That's why we have tinsel on our tree and every tree should have a Christmas spider in it's branches.~
7. Christmas PJ'sThis was started by Grandma Bobby when the girls were 2 and 5 years old. When she was a little girl her parents always made sure she and her sister had them. From then on Emile and Brie had matching jammies for Christmas as well.
8. Mexican Food on Christmas EveThis tradition began when I was still married. The entire Lopez family would get together on Christmas Eve and have the most wonderful array of Mexican food you could imagine. After eating we'd do our gift exchange and relax. Eventually most of the family would head out for midnight mass. I decided this would be a wonderful way for Em and Brie to remain connected to their roots. It was another fun thing to look forward to on Christmas Eve.
9. Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"This tradition started because of Emile. I don't remember ever watching this movie until she was around 8 years old. She fell in love with it.
10.Reading from Luke 2One final but most important tradition was to read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible. This was done either last thing Christmas Eve or first thing Christmas morning. It just depended on what was going on. Either way we always made sure we remembered the true reason for the season.

And there you have it. Some of our family traditions. I hope the girls enjoyed the times spent together as much as I did. It's not the same now as they're getting older. Memories are sweet though. I also hope that some of these traditions are carried on eventually with their own families. Merry Christmas.

Ugly Politics and Smear Campaigns

Most people who know me well enough know that I'm fiercely conservative in my political views. I still believe in the Constitution and in the liberties it provides for citizens of The United States of America. I also love this great nation in which I live. I cannot imagine living anywhere else. This is my country and I love it dearly.We are about to enter an election year. In 2012 we will be electing our President for another four years. Without a doubt I hope that President Obama is defeated. Since the beginning of his term, he has done nothing to stabilize the economy, stop the influx of illegal immigrants into the country, reduce the risk of terrorism, or bring the citizens of this great nation together. If anything we've become more divided and at risk than we've ever been. I want to see a person in the White House who knows what he/she is doing, loves this great nation, and will serve the people honorably. Gee, what a novel idea.So far we've had an interesting array of candidates to emerge. It's still too early to determine which will earn the Republican nomination, however, some have interesting ideas and thoughts about how to correct the problems we're facing. One such candidate was Herman Cain.Cain was the CEO of Godfather's Pizza for many years. He was started off doing very well in his campaigning and held his own during debates. He introduced the "9-9-9 Plan." This plan would replace all current taxes (including the payroll tax, capital gains tax, and the estate tax) with 9% business transaction tax; 9% personal income tax rate, and a 9% federal sales tax. Some people called it foolish and totally out of the realm of possibility. Seems to me that at least he was thinking outside of the box. Unfortunately, it appears Cain was gaining enough support and ruffling enough feathers for a serious smear campaign to be launched against him. He was accused of infidelity and sexual harassment by some women, which he denies. It was enough to cast doubt in the minds of his supporters and his poll numbers began to fall. A few days ago Cain issued the following statement......

"The allegations have cast a cloud of doubt over me and this campaign. As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt . . . on me, on my family, not because we are not fighters, not because I am not a fighter. The pundits would like for me to shut up, drop out and go away. I am not going to be silenced, and I am not going away."So there you have it. The first candidate to be brought down by the ugly politics. I'm certain this is only the beginning of the ugliness which will continue for the next year. I fear that things are going to get worse for the citizens of the U.S. before they get better.

As a side note, I did a little research. I discovered that the following U.S. Presidents were guilty of infidelity....
1. Thomas Jefferson (Democrat and Republican)
2. Andrew Jackson (Democrat)
3. Martin Van Buren (Democrat)
4. James A. Garfield (Republican)
5. Grover Cleveland (Democrat)
6. Warren G. Harding (Republican)
7. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat)
8. Dwight Eisenhower (Republican)
9. John F. Kennedy (Democrat)
10. Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)
11. William Clinton (Democrat)
I heard so many people commenting on how they could never trust a candidate who would cheat on his wife. Imagine that! I've got to say.... I've got an issue with this as well. I don't think it's ever okay to have an affair. EVER! So while I agree with not electing a man who would not remain faithful to his wife and the vows they entered into, I find it hard to swallow that we have elected men such as this for years and years. Infidelity is nothing new in politics. We actually have some candidates who are men AND women with upstanding moral standards. Unfortunately, more than likely, they will NOT be taken serious or receive the nomination. It seems the nature of the beast to overlook people with integrity. How sad is that?

Our New Addition

The Oxford~Lopez family is pleased to announce the addition of the newest member of our family. Introducing...... LILY.Lily is a miniature schnauzer and she was born December 1st. She had two sisters and three brothers at birth, however, one of the little girls died. She's a precious little puppy and the smallest of the litter. We won't be able to bring her home until February 1st. Until then we'll visit her every couple days in order for her to bond with us.Brie picked out which puppy we'd take. It's hard to tell, but she instantly fell in love with Lily. ☺ Many thanks to my friend, Robin. We appreciate you allowing us to share in this wonderful experience. We're very excited and can't wait to have Lily in our home.

Trimming The Tree

Our family has had a tradition for as long as I can remember of putting up our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving. I'm not really sure when we started doing it that way, but it has been at least 10 years now. Anyway, I had invited everyone over for dinner (the usual crowd... Em, Matt, Dakota, Tibbs, and Tibbsette). I also told the missionary's to come over if they'd like so they could help decorate the tree. They arrived at around 6pm and the fun began.

It was just great having the missionary's help. They both really enjoyed it. And obviously so did Dakota. I still have a little bit to do to finish up with the decorating, but the majority is complete. Now to take care of all the rest of the things I need to do before Christmas arrives. At least I can enjoy the beauty of our home and tree.

Let the holidays begin!

Fun, Family, Friends... And Fire

A couple weeks ago I decided to have a "Stromboli Night" and invite Em, Matt (and Dakota), Tibbs, Tibbsette, and Chelsey over to join me and Brie. We had a really fun night making Stromboli from scratch. I even made the dough. I put out pizza sauce, hard salami, ham, and pepperoni. I had sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and added them to sausage. I put out provolone, mozzarella, cheddar, and Mexi-blend cheese to use. Each person got to customize their own Stromboli to their individual liking. Dakota even helped!

When we were all finished eating we went out back and made a fire so we could roast marshmallows and make S'mores. That was a blast.It's scary but true that I let Brie light the fire. I now believe her when she says she hates camping. Watching her light a match and start the fire was painful to say the least. It's a good thing she's not depending on making fires for her survival. She'd die. Any way, she finally got the match lit and threw it onto the wood.We have fire! Brie was so proud of herself. She cracks me up.Before long everyone was outside (along with chairs from three different rooms). It was a chilly night but the fire was nice and everyone was having fun. I think Dakota had the most fun.This was his first time eating S'mores. He loved them. I loved watching his expression when he tasted it. You could tell he was hooked from the first bite."Grandma" Brenda even got to help roast a marshmallow with Dakota. He had a great time. So did everyone else.I will admit, I ate one marshmallow and had a tiny (I mean tiny) bite of a S'more. Just enough to satisfy the desire to taste it. It was just enough and I enjoyed it.When all was said and done we all agreed that it had been a pretty cool evening. Brie and Chelsey stayed out back after everyone else came inside or left to go home. I just love evenings like this.