Request for good thoughts, prayers, etc...

I meant to post this a few days ago. I'd like to once again ask my friends and family to lift our friend Jewel up in your thoughts, prayers, whatever it is you do. Today is the two year anniversary of her son Tylor's tragic death. We all miss him.

A decision in which we want your opinion...

We are at a point that we need to really settle on where we are going to live in a few months. This is a difficult decision. Here's why...

The veteran benefits in California are excellent for us. When Chris retires our kids get to go to college tuition free. There...that's it...the number one reason we would stay. That's a biggie for us. Number two reason is Christopher wants to graduate here with his friends.

On the other hand, it really bothers us that we have no family anywhere near us. Cameron still talks about Troy, Sabrina, Lauren, Katelyn and Joey. While we have zero plans on moving to the Houston area, somewhere within a few hours driving distance would be ideal. Keep in mind we still want to be able to use our military benefits so a military base nearby is pretty important. This leaves San Antonio, Wichita Falls and Corpus Christi. Wichita Falls would have been decent...it's 6 hours from family in Houston, and 7 hours from family in Kansas City. Unfortunately, we've been watching the weather and it is HOT there...hotter than Houston. That leaves San Antonio (also hot) and Corpus. Guess where we picked. That's right...Corpus. The job market is booming. Housing is affordable. The people are friendly. The sunsets are beautiful. And there's the beach. BUT...that wonderful college benefit is not there.

So, what to do? Stay here in California where we have no family but college is guaranteed. Or go ahead and move to Corpus, disregard Christopher's wishes to finish school here with his friends, and struggle to get our kids through college?

How about you vote here...

Cameron at Karate

8/21/09

I have another blog. A secret blog that only I have access to. When I have deep thoughts that I don't feel like sharing with others, that's where I go. I can type out the things that bother me. Sometimes I feel better. Sometimes the things I write stay with me for a while, popping into my mind often.

Last year Jonathan Roche sent out an email to his followers telling us to think about what we would do if we found out we only had 6 months to live. I thought about it...a lot. I cried. I couldn't, and still can't imagine being given that kind of news. This past week, with the sad news our family has received regarding our dear sweet Sue (Mom's sister) having limited time left, I have been thinking on it again.

I've decided to share with you what I wrote in my secret blog back on August 21, 2009. It's nothing spectacular, just my own thoughts at the time. And I guess goals that I need to get cracking on before my time runs out suddenly. Here it is...copied and pasted..
*******************
Six Months To Live
What would I do if today I found out I only have six months to live? I'd spend a few hours crying and regretting all that I've messed up. Then I would do everything in my power to spend more time with my kids. I'd take many many pictures with each child. I'd go to Texas and spend time with my family there. I'd figure out a way to see the stars from the ocean and the Northern Lights. I'd maybe pick up the french horn again. If I had the strength, I'd take dance lessons, then find a formal event and go dancing with my husband. Shoot, I'd dance with my kids too. I'd take my kids to the beach more. I'd read to them more. I'd hug them longer and more often. I'd find a way to see the broadway production of Les Miserables again, and this time I'd take my kids. Emily and I would complete her dress that we started months ago, and hopefully it will still be her size. I'd sort through the tons of pictures we have in boxes and finally organize them.
Posted by Cheryl at 11:50 AM
********************
So, that's that. Something to think on. Maybe I should print this out and tape it to my mirror so I can see it every day. My (Our) time is limited...I (we) have to stop being afraid to do things. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

A Quick Update...

Just wanted to let everyone know that Chris got the final approval on his retirement. So, there's no turning back now. AND since the kids and I are staying here in San Diego instead of moving to a new school, Chris has decided to go ahead and do a retirement ceremony. As before, you're all invited if you want to make the trip here. The official date is December 3rd. That's set in stone. If you plan on coming, it would be great if you could let us know. We need to set up a few things and figure out how many tents to plant in the back yard. Ha ha. No really, I'm not joking.

As far as the school situation...we are staying put for one more school year. Not because we love the school, but because we love the special education team working with Cameron. We still do not have a diagnosis and are working with the team at the school. The team at the school has come together several times and shared their observations and evaluations with each other and then us. In March our pediatrician referred us to a neurologist who specializes in difficult to diagnose cases, like Cameron. I called and discovered there was a loooong wait. Cameron's appointment was set for June 18th. When we told the special ed team at school who the doctor was, their eyes lit up and then they told us that this particular doctor is world renown. Yay! They worked over the next couple of months and put together an extensive information packet for us to give to the neurologist. On June 18th, we showed up for our appointment and were told that our insurance declined to pay. Umm, thanks for the notice. Our insurance company wants us to go to the Naval Hospital. Okiee dokiee. I'm not thrilled with that because I have never, never, ever had a great experience with the military hospitals. EVER. Oh well, gotta do what we gotta do. Chris went in Friday and was told that they are booking appointments for August. CRAP! School starts September 7th and we were hoping to have a diagnosis and a plan by then. Also, the Naval Hospital doctors have their own questionnaire for us and the teachers to fill out. It's SUMMER TIME. We've already done this extensive series of questions for the civilian doctor. Probably more thorough than the one the Navy docs are wanting. But no, not good enough. *sigh* We'll get it done though.

So that's some of what's going on around here. I'll try to put some pics up as soon as I locate the little cable thingy that connects my craptastical camera to my craptastical computer. We have some pictures of Cameron in his karate gi. He's so cute. He just advanced to 2nd degree white belt and I got a little video of him breaking the tape on his belt. His face is priceless. Also, I have some pictures from the zoo and also Cameron's Kindergarten graduation. And we're going hiking tomorrow, so hopefully I can get some good pics then too.

Y'all take care...

The Van

***Our van broke down New Year's Eve. We had it towed to our house.(I love USAA) It sat in our driveway till February when we figured we had enough money saved up to fix it. We had it towed to our favorite car repair shop.(Again, love USAA) They replaced the fuel pump. We drove it home. Two days later when I was getting ready to go somewhere, I got the kids in the van and got my seat belt on. Put the key in the ignition.......nothing. Try again....nothing. Try again....nothing. Oh yay! Our van sat in the driveway till last week when we decide, "Hey, why don't we get the battery checked!" (We hadn't checked it already because it was still pretty new...how could it be the battery?) Chris took the battery out, took it to Kragen....4 AMPs. Wow. Next day we took it to Sears where we bought it in the first place. Guess what. Still under warranty for about 23 more days....we got another for free. Shew! For the last almost 4 months we've been driving Chris's Ford Focus and Emily's Mazda Protege. Both small cars. If the whole family had to go somewhere, we would go in two cars. Today, I drove the van for the first time since before New Year's Eve. I felt like I was in a truck; high off the ground...loved it. Only problem was, I kept reaching for the gear shift between the two front seats. Um, in the van, it's on the steering column. Same with the parking break, except in the van, that's on the floor.***

***Since the van's been closed up pretty tight for the last four months, the windshield leaks where there is a rust spot at the top on the passenger side, and it rained a few times....the carpet in front of the passenger seat is black, stinks like mildew and is NASTY***

***Wondering how terrible it would be to just let Chris MacGyver the rust spot with silicone sealant***

***Also wondering how terrible it would be if we just pulled the stinky carpet out and drove the van around without it***

Four Months Ago.........(picture heavy)

I said I would post pictures from the Monster Jam. It was just about 4 months ago, I'm sorry. We have over 300 pictures and I was hoping for some help in selecting them; but so far, nothing. So, I'm posting what I feel like posting and if the pictures that I post are not pictures that other people in this house would've posted, too bad.

First off, it was a B-E-A-utiful day after a full 5 days of rain and flooding.


We rode the bus and trolley there to avoid the traffic at Qualcomm Stadium. Cameron and Gabriel are just fascinated by the MTS. It was very easy, convenient and fun.

Christopher, Gabriel, Chris


Cameron, Emily


Gabriel in a different seat because he was too excited to sit in one spot.


Me.



Pit Party........

We saw the car from Back to the Future, and got an autograph from one of the designers. Saw the police car from the Andy Griffith Show. Tow-Mater from Cars. And we can't forget the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo.

I'm sure you don't really care to see all of the pics, so here's the Mystery Machine..





The Drivers and their Monsters...

Pat Gerber and The Shocker...(truth be told, we got in this line because it was the shortest)


Frank Krmel and Blue Thunder (Yes, that is Krmel, it is not misspelled)


The kids with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle


Mark McDonald and El Toro Loco (Pretty darn long line, but I had to have a picture with my beloved El Toro)



Jim Creten and The Bounty Hunter


Dawn Creten and The Iron Outlaw (She normally drives Scarlett Bandit, but the Bandit was too beat up from the last show and the driver of Iron Outlaw quit...you don't really care, do you?)





The Show

Monster Mutt


Iron Man



Ninja Turtle


Blue Thunder



Demolition Derby


The guy here in the pic spilled his beer under my seat, which ended up all over my backpack and Cameron's earmuffs. I had to dry his earmuffs on my jeans. Yuck. And the guy kept booing Blue Thunder. Grrr...I wanted to throw my elbow back into his face a few times. But I refrained.








We had a great time.

Finished the 5K

I don't even know why I keep this blog. I'm so bad at updating. Thank you all for being patient with me.

Well, the 5K was a few weeks ago. We walked the entire thing. I kinda wanted to walk/jog, but I had fallen off of the exercise wagon and hadn't exercised in about 5 weeks. Also, there were over 5000 people there, and it was super crowded just trying to walk. We would've been running into the back of people if we would've tried to run. Next time we know to start just behind the runners.

By the time we got to mile two, it had thinned out, but I was ready to quit. My lower leg and my back were killing me. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't run any of it, because a few weeks before, I could have. On the other hand, I am proud to say I finished. Anywhoo, we finished it in 58 minutes or so.

I don't have any pictures to post, but I do have a link to them if you really want to see them. I've looked at them and I get so angry at myself for being so big. I think I will start my 'Burning the Bridge Behind' me posts again on Monday. I really need people to get onto me about this and keep me motivated. I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life, except for when I was pregnant with Gabriel. I got into the 260s with him. I'm not there now, but not too far from it. Yuck.

Anyway, here are the links. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

**Edit** For some reason, the links are not turning into links. You'll have to copy and paste. Sorry.

Me...
https://www.opix.net/cgi-bin/index07.cgi?race_id=134&race_ids=134&race=&race_number=2569

Chris...
https://www.opix.net/cgi-bin/index07.cgi?race_id=134&race_ids=134&race=&race_number=2570

I'm Doing a 5K..........

I registered for this event a few weeks ago. I should have put this up sooner, so my friends and family could donate if they want. It's not too late if you feel generous and you have something, anything to contribute. I've been wanting to do a 5K for a while and I've been waiting and waiting for my body to be up to it, but time is passing by and 5Ks are coming and going. So, I finally just jumped in and planted my flag. I have no intention of running it; I just want to complete it.

The race also happens to be for Autism. We have a friend with an Autistic child. This is who I will be racing for. Well, that was my intention anyway. Now it looks like I may also be racing for one of my own children. Cameron is now in the evaluation process. This has been a hard week for us, having a specialist at school tell me on Monday that he has autistic like symptoms. Then him being seen by a pediatrician on Wednesday who specializes in childhood disorders. That pediatrician has referred Cameron to an Autistic specialist. We shall see.

If Cameron turns out not to have any kind of Autism, wonderful. But we do know something is wrong. Anyone who spends a great deal of time with him sees it. Monotone voice, obsessions, auditory processing problems, etc. Anyway, if it turns out to be something else, great. Still there are others out there that need more help. That's why I'm racing.

Please help if you can. The race is on Saturday, March 27th.


Click Here to Donate

Eclipse Trailer

The Reasons

Hello everyone.  I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog for the past few months.  It took me a while to figure out why I've been avoiding it, but I had a lightbulb moment a couple of days ago.  I've been avoiding it because there are certain people that I don't want reading it.  I don't want to make it private and have everyone sign in though.  So, I've just been staying away.  In a couple of weeks I will probably discontinue this blog.  I've explained to my mom and my mom-in-law why I will be doing this.  So, any questions from family can go to them, or email me.  As far as everyone else, just email me, or leave a comment letting me know you want to still follow me.  I do intend to start another blog, and I will email that address out to you as soon as I come up with a name for it.  Any suggestions? 

For now I'll give you an update on Cameron's school, daycare and where we are not moving when Chris retires in a few months.

On the last day of school before winter break in December, two 3rd graders came up to Cameron during recess.  Cameron was preparing to eat his snack, a granola bar and a Yoohoo drink.  The boys asked if they could have it.  Cameron told them no.  They took it and ran.  There was no adult around for Cameron to tell.  When winter break was over, Cameron really fought me about going to school because he didn't want those boys to take his snack again.  I told him I would be there for recess.  And I was.  Cameron pointed the boys out, and I pulled the new principal aside and pointed them out to her.  That's how I found out they were 3rd graders.  Supposedly, she took care of it.  

Two days later, when we are getting ready to leave for school, I walk into the kitchen and catch Cameron with the the 7-inch Chef's knife trying to sneak it into his backpack.  You won't even believe how upset I was.  Not at Cameron, but at the school.  I'm getting angry just typing this.  I was LIVID.  My precious little 5-year old felt he needed to take a knife to protect himself from the bullies.  Nuh-uh....I'm not having that.  That was the absolute final straw.  When I got to the school, I pulled aside the only person that I've seen actually look like they care about Cameron, his speech therapist.  When I told her, I could see her get just about as upset as I was.  She pulled aside Cameron's teacher, and the principal.  She said, "This has gone too far.  Cameron does not feel safe.  Mrs. Sinclair has done her job by stopping Cameron from bringing a knife to school.  It is time for the school to do it's job.  Something must be done today."

That day the Kindergartners and 1st graders were separated from the the rest of the grades during recess.   Although it's gotten kinda lax since then, it's still pretty much that way.  They are separated for the most part.  And I have been there every day for recess, minus about 3 times.  The first week I was there, I witnessed those two 3rd grade boys walk up to Cameron when he was putting his snack on the table.  I started approaching.  The smaller boy grabbed the bigger boy on the arm and looked toward me.  The bigger boy looked up, made eye contact with me, and they both turned around and went their way.  Yeah, you better hightail it outta there you turds.   

Like I said, I've been there just about every day.  I don't hover over Cameron; I want him to go play.  I keep my eyes on him quite a bit, and I watch the other kids too.  I have figured out that there are just not enough adults out there to watch that many kids.  My third day there, I saw a special needs boy start climbing over the rail of the slide about 6 feet high.  The special needs teachers were there, closer than I was, but they were dealing with other students.  I yelled out, "HEY!"  and started running toward him.  One of the men looked up just in time to put his hands up and block the boy from tumbling over the side.  Jeeze, I nearly had a heart attack.  I've had kids come up to me and tell me that so and so is being mean and bossing them around.  I saw a boy whipping a jumprope at some kids.  And the worst of all I think, was a girl running around with a rope looped around her neck pulling two kids behind her who were hanging on to that rope as if she were a horse.  That was pretty shocking.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  

So, yeah, that school needs more parent volunteers.  There's much more I can tell you about the goings ons, but, I don't want this post to be any longer.  

So, to finish up....my time spent at the school has put the whole daycare thing on the back burner.  I've done all of the classes and bought quite a bit of stuff for it, but it's just not as important to me as Cameron is.  So, anyway, we haven't been able to come up with a surplus of money to pay off our debts or save up for our move.  So, Alaska is not going to happen.  I know that pleases the majority of the family and friends, but we are pretty bummed about it, but whatever.  Maybe someday we will be able to afford a vacation there.

So, that's all I'm gonna write for now.  It's a pretty long post.  I intend to put some pictures up in the next couple of days.  They are from the Monster Jam in January, and the zoo in February, but hey, they're pictures.   

Till next time...

 

I can't lose any weight with her around....

Offer: 18 year old girl.
Pretty helpful around house.
Tidy.
Mega Sweet-tooth.
Loves comic books, anime, and super heros.
Comes with driver's license and car.
Good company.

You must be willing to house her and make sure she goes to college. Also, you must fly here to drive back to where ever you live with her.

Only serious offers need apply.