Happy Birthday Jon!

Today is my favorite son's 26th birthday. He came into the world at 1:25 pm. Not kicking and screaming like a typical new born, but fighting for his life. In that moment, 9 weeks premature and unable to breathe on his own, Jon Robert Pumpernickle changed my life forever.

Raised with only a sister and mommy to a little girl, this little boy was a whole new experience. I am so thankful that God chose me to be his mommy. (Yah, there were moments, but......).

Today, I will get to celebrate his birthday and Christmas with him and his new wife. This morning, she was the one to make his birthday breakfast. I thought that it might seem weird, but it didn't. She makes him so happy and treats him like a Prince. It was just the natural progression of things, and I'm more than OK with that. I will admit, that when I see him today, I will probably think about the one year old with chocolate cake in his hair, or the 10 year old who wanted to go to the Aztec Basketball game, or the 16 year old who couldn't wait to get his drivers license. I know that I will be thinking that he can't possibly be 26.

Happy Birthday Jon! I love you and I am so proud that you are my son.

Hawaii

I am finally caught up on everything CHRISTmas and have a couple of minutes to post a few pictures from our Hawaii trip.

View from the top of Diamond Head:



North Shore of Oahu:

Our Anniversary dinner at Duke's in Waikiki:

Sunset in Waikiki:

Few from poolside at our resort in Maui:

Blowhole in Maui:

Lava rock formation:

Authentic roadside stand in Maui:

Iao Needle in Maui:

Hubby's favorite beach in Maui:

View from Maui Up Country:

Hiking in the Up Country. Hard to believe this isn't a mountain hike at Lake Tahoe:

Can't wait to go back.

Prayer

Friday is Matthew's hearing. My daughter is requesting prayer for the entire day. She has a sign up going on her blog: http://familyfishbowl.blogspot.com/. She is trying to cover the entire day. A lot of time slots are already signed up for, but I would love to see multiple names on each time. If you could, please visit her blog and sign up to pray. We are praying for God's will in general, clear movement toward Matthew staying with my daughter's family specifically, but we are also asking God for a miracle tomorrow. We would love to see the birth father realize that Matthew is right where he needs to be and that he would put an end to this whole thing TOMORROW!!!!

Please visit her blog and sign up to join us in prayer.

Loved Rotten

When I was last in Utah, attending Woman's Retreat at my daughter's church, I stayed a few extra days to spend time with my grandsons. One day we were in Walmart doing some misc. shopping. We were in the fabric section and Garrett saw some Cars fabric. He fell in love with it and I offered to make him a pillow case out of it. My daughter asked me if it would be possible to make him an apron out of it instead. Garrett loves to help his mommy in the kitchen and he isn't always the neatest of chefs. We went over and looked at the patterns and found a cute one that had his size. Garrett, keep in mind, was present for all of this. I distinctly remember showing him the pattern.



Fast forward a few weeks......Grandma goes home and makes him the cutest little apron you've ever seen. I even made him a little hand towel thingy that used some of the fabric and a dish towel so that he could keep his hands clean while he was helping mommy in the kitchen. I mailed them off right before we went on vacation.



While I was in Oahu I received a call from my daughter telling me that Garrett loved his apron and towel, but she also shared the following conversation:



G: (looking at the apron and towel) I wanted a pillowcase.

L: Don't you remember that Grandma decided to make you an apron?

G: I wanted a pillowcase. Is Damma going to send the pillowcase?



Now, I KNOW that he was aware that he was getting an apron, but he must have thought that that was in addition to the pillowcase. It bothered me so much that he was disappointed. Fast forward several hours..........our plane leaves Oahu and we head for Maui. After landing we immediately head to Costco and Walmart for a food run before heading for the condo. So bothered by Garrett's disappointment, I check the fabric section of Walmart on the off chance that they might have the same fabric. THEY DID!!! I bought a yard, paying twice as much for it on Maui as I did in Utah. I sent Lori a text messsage telling her that she could tell Garrett that the pillow case would be arriving shortly after we got home from vacation. Her response was "little scam artist."



Some people will probably say that I am spoiling him rotten, but I want to put that notion to bed. I am simply LOVING him rotten. But, then again, what are 'Damma's' for?



After, I get caught up on Christmas shopping, decorating and pillow case making I will post some pictures of our trip.

Happy Anniversary

Today is Hubby's and my 31st anniversary. Yes, you read that right. 31 amazing years.

I was blessed to marry my best friend. We have known each other since we were in 7th grade. We were friends through high school and worked together at McDonald's. Our first date was the night we graduated from high school and, as they say, the rest was history. We were 20 years old when we got married.

We have had a great marriage. Not perfect, by any means, but we have worked to get to where we are today. I sometimes think I love him more now than I ever did back then, but I suppose I just love him different. I still can't wait to spend time with him. He is still my best friend. He has been an amazing provider and an excellent father. Behind God, I know that I am the most important person in his life. Over the years, our marriage has become much more Christ centered as we have matured as adults and as Christians.

We have had our share of struggles but, through them all, we have leaned on Jesus and each other. We have managed to come out through the tough times stronger.

31 years ago today two kids started on their journey together:



Here we are today. Over the last 31 years we have laughed often and shed a few tears. There has been some sickness and lots of good health. We have been poor and a little richer. We have been blessed with two amazing children, an awesome son-in-law, gorgeous daughter-in-law and two grandsons whom we adore. 31 years later finds us both with a lot more wrinkles and a few more pounds. (Well, half of us have a few more pounds and I think it's obvious which half it is. Be kind.)



I am writing this post early and setting it to post on our anniversary. Lord willing, we will be celebrating with a sunset dinner at Duke's in Waikiki. We left on Tuesday for 10 days in Oahu and Maui. I am excited to spend time in paradise with my best friend! Happy Anniversary Jon! I love you and I can't wait to spend another 31 years as your wife!

Limo Company Update

Please, please, please let all of your friends know not to use this company! My son FINALLY got his credit from them, but not in a timely manner by any means. The bigger issue is......the BBB has given them a rating of F. You can read it here Top Cat's BBB review. I'm done beating a dead horse now, and will not bash them anymore, but it's obvious that they really don't care if they have a favorable review or not.

Prom time will be here before any of you know it, so let's keep spreading the word. There are many companies out there who would love to have the business that would normally go to Top Cat. My goal would be for their limos to sit empty during Prom season, (or any other time of year) and to NEVER be used for a wedding.

Forward me, link me, copy me..........just spread the word.

Don't Use This Company

The limo was a no show after my son's wedding. They simply never showed up. They were supposed to take them from San Diego to LAX. They waited for over an hour before leaving in a private car. They both refused to let it ruin their day, but they were disappointed.

Hubby and I tried to deal with the situation while they were on their honeymoon, because we didn't want to let it go for 10 days.

We got nothing but the run-around. For starters, they wouldn't even take responsibility. They kept trying to tell us that it wasn't their fault because they had contracted it out to someone else. We asked them to compensate my son by picking them up at LAX on their return flight. They couldn't do that, because.....it wasn't their fault. We tried to be nice. We tried to get them to do the right thing. They simply won't. Finally frustrated, I told the company that I was going to put it on a blog and Facebook, not to mention the Better Business Bureau. The person that I had been dealing with basically let me know that he simply didn't care. So, he left me no choice....... Do NOT use TOP CAT Limousine service in San Diego!!! Don't let it ruin any of your upcoming events. Pass the word to anyone you think might benefit from knowing this. There are a lot of other limo companies in San Diego. Use one of them.

Today

I don't think there are many people who don't look at their tiny baby and envision that one day they will grow up and marry their own Prince or Princess. When they are growing up we often wonder what their future spouse is doing right at that moment. Where do they live? Are they happy? Then we wonder how their paths will cross and what will transpire to make them aware that this is 'the one?' In our prayers for our son's future wife, we prayed that she was growing up knowing Jesus.

I have introduced you to my son and to his Princess on this blog before. You can read their stories here and here and here and here. I have shared over and over again how proud I am of both of them.


Today, I will sit and watch my handsome son proclaim his love for his Princess in front of God and his closest friends and family members. I will try not to cry when I think about the little boy who was going to 'grow up and marry mommy.' I will try not to think about how fast 25 years have gone.




Today, I will rejoice with him as he makes the most beautiful girl in the world his wife. I will thank God, with him, for her. I will thank God that she is a godly woman, beautiful inside and out and living her life for Him. Today, I will try to memorize every moment of watching my son look into the eyes of his bride, promising to love, honor and cherish her. Today, I will smile when they are introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Jon Pumpernickel for the very first time.

Today, on his wedding day, I will dance with my handsome son. Today, I will tell him how proud I am of him. I might even remind him that he will always be my baby. Today, I will tell him how much I love him. I don't know what song he has chosen for us to dance to, so I may or may not listen to the words, and I may or may not have a tear in my eye, but I will try to cherish every step that we take.

Today, I will celebrate when they ride off in their limo to begin the rest of their lives together. Today, I will gladly welcome the newest Mrs. Jon Pumpernickel into the family.

Today, is a day parents dream about.

I Hate That Smell

A few days ago Hubby opened a new can of shaving cream. He soon started to complain that he didn't like the smell of it and asked me not to buy it again. I told him that it would be ok if he just threw it away. Not wanting to be wasteful, he said that he would continue to use it. This morning this conversation transpired:

Hubby: I finally figured out why I don't like this shaving cream.

Me: Oh, yah, why?

Hubby: It's non-scented.

Me: So, you don't like the smell of nothing?

Hubby: Pretty much.

Me: Um.......ok.

I'm still laughing.

Happy Birthday Lori!

28 years ago today I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. Yep, you read that correctly. I am the mother of a 28 year old. Of course, I had her when I was 11, therefore making it not nearly as bad as it sounds.