A Year In Review

Chaos

 We built it up together and watched it crumble together. Our deli was our baby.

 Universal Studios right after we closed the deli was a nice bandage for our wounds.

Emily and I are getting to spend a lot of time together at the beach this summer!

I know that I haven't posted much lately, but it has been a whirlwind of a year. Greg started having SVT attacks last year and after a stay in the ICU last August, it led to more tests...a lot of tests actually. The conclusion to all of the testing, which ended up with NOTHING to do with his SVT episodes, we discovered that at some point he had a silent heart attack and as a result, he now has dead heart tissue and is in the beginning stages of heart failure. At this point, we are just hoping he makes it until Emily and Quinn graduate. It has taken until now for me to come to terms with this, and Greg is still working on it. I can already see his health starting to deteriorate, and it makes me sad. All I can do is watch...that's all anyone can do at this point.
In January, we lost a HUGE contract with the casino here in town and as a result, we had to shut down our deli. As sad as we were to close, it has ultimately been a blessing. I am now back in college and working towards my nursing degree finally!! This college thing was a lot easier back when I didn't have kids! Greg is cooking at a restaurant close to home and is loving it. He is really enjoying having two days off a week, something that hasn't happened since we opened the deli.
Kids are doing great. Emily played basketball and softball this past school year and is going to take on volleyball as well this year. She also started playing the alto sax and it actually really good at it. She didn't get any of her musical abilities from me! The high school choir teacher is already trying to recruit her for choir once she gets up there...next year!!!
All in all, life is going well, considering the circumstances. I am really excited to be back in school to finish my degree for my dream job. Greg and I will be embarking on a Mexican cruise in October! I finally have my passport and we should have Greg's in a few weeks. Having a passport is so freeing! Knowing that I can just pick up and leave at any time is amazing. Will I? No! But could I? Yes!!!

My Summer in a Nutsell

Remodel

I now know what it is like to live in a house that is "under construction" with a family of 6! Wood floors are now installed, new carpet going in on the stairs and the kids bedrooms, new paint in the living room and dining room, new light fixtures and new molding everywhere! Goodbye 80s look, hello modern! My OCD has been kicked into high gear and the inability to clean due to the construction zone is driving me insane. But, it will be so nice when it is all done.

Redwoods!

I had mentioned to our friend Craig that I had never been to the Redwoods. He decided that was unacceptable and we needed to take a road trip. It turned into a weekend with just our girls. We had so much fun. A lot to cram into two days, but totally worth it. We stayed in Cresent City, which isn't all that interesting! If course it rained the entire time, but we didn't let that stop us from having a great time.

Sunny days

Many know that we've had record rain this winter. Not many sunny days have been seen! This past week was absolutely beautiful. I seized the moment and got a few pictures of Emily, who is growing at a crazy fast rate.

Emily Turns 10

Well, my girl turned 10. She is a whole decade old and I have officially been a mom for a decade! It makes me feel so old, even though I am only 30! She has grown so much and has developed into such an amazing young lady. This year was the first year she didn't have a complete meltdown with all of the activity going on for her birthday. She usually gets herself so worked up and then has a complete meltdown towards the end of the evening. We had a family birthday party at our house with my mom and then we all went to Emily and Quinn's winter concert, which I will have to post the video of at a later time. Emily has such an amazing voice and she doesn't even know it. So many people came up to me after the concert to tell me how amazing she was (she had a solo.)
I am such a lucky woman to have been blessed with this sweet girl. She has seriously made me the woman I am today. She has my stubborn attitude and independence. She loves with her whole heart and is so caring. It is so much fun watching her grow up, I just wish she would slow down a little bit...

Arizona

For vacation this year, Greg was so sweet and let me choose where to go. I have been missing one of very best friends, who moved to Arizona. Plus, I had never been to Arizona! We got to stay in Scottsdale in a nice hotel. Greg loved it because it was across the parking lot from a restaurant called, "Lo Lo's Chicken and Waffles." Soul food...probably his favorite! We only had 3 full days there, as it was the week of Thanksgiving and we wanted to get back to the kids. It was a rushed trip, but it was so nice for me not to have any responsibilities, even if it was just for 3 days. Arizona is so beautiful...not Oregon beautiful, but in a unique way. We got to tour Old Town, which was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.
Valuable lesson learned: NEVER EVER TRAVEL the day before Thanksgiving. We landed back at PDX around 4:30pm. 2 hours later, we arrived at Greg's parents house in Vancouver!! What should have been a 15 minute drive took 2 hours. Greg's dad was so sweet and drove down to the beach to get our kids and bring them back up to Vancouver to meet us. We were staying in Vancouver for Thanksgiving. It took his poor dad 4 hours and 10 minutes to drive from our house to Vancouver. Normally a 2 hour drive. We learned a lot that day!

Latest Happenings

Life is always crazy busy. Just when I thought things would slow down, a whole new madness begins! Fiona just finished up with volleyball...who knew middle school sports were so busy!! Liam and Fiona are both in braces but Liam is getting his off this month...woohoo!!! Down to only one orthodontist bill...for now! Emily and Quinn are up next!
The deli is still going strong. We aren't closing down this winter (bummer!) I enjoyed my few months off every year, but I guess it is a good thing that the deli is doing that well. Greg keeps threatening to open another one...over my dead body!! One is more than enough.
I am still waiting to get the paperwork from Doerenbechers for Emily. I have called twice now...still no paperwork and they swear they have mailed it. This is becoming very frustrating.
My mom had her knee replacement done last month. She is doing awesome and she is finally not in pain...other than surgical pain, but is 3-4 weeks ahead in the recovery process. She is doing amazing.
2 weeks from now, Greg and I will be off to Arizona for a few days. This mom needs a break from the business, kids and mom duties!!! My mom is staying with Emily and the other kids will be with their mom. We are going to have a very relaxing 4 days. 4 days is all, but we have the contract with the casino and they wont take a week of no food from us. Oh well, I guess that is a good sign!
Until next time...

Weight Loss

One does not see the slow change. It just becomes something you just see every day in the mirror. I am me...there is no change.
However, the picture from 2013 popped up in my memories on Facebook one day. I could hardly even look at it because I was so disgusted with myself. How the hell did I let myself become so big? How could I be that big and not even notice? How could Greg even stand to look at me? You know, all of the things you ask yourself that make you question your self worth. I quickly scrolled past the picture and went to look at other memories. I found myself drawn back to this stupid picture. I asked Greg how I had never noticed myself at that size. He said he never even noticed (typical!) He reassured me that I was nothing close to that size. Self doubt, I went to the bathroom and took a picture of myself then and there. I put the pictures side by side...and to my amazement, I was not even close to that size any more!!
Now, I know I still have a long ways to go (probably should give up going to Dutch Bros every morning for coffee) but I have come so far. I have to remember to keep my head up and focus on the progress I've made and not how far I have to go.

Two Year Anniversary!!

               A collage of every year we've been together...I think we're pretty awesome!!!

September 15th Greg and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It is crazy to think that we've been together for almost four years. At times, it seems like just yesterday. Other times, it seems like it has been so much longer!!! This is our crazy life...