It's still December, right?

I just got back from Wallyworld.

The only reason I went the day after Christmas was because we needed some milk and dishwasher soap. Otherwise, I would have never headed into such a mad house. It was crazy with people returning and exchanging Christmas gifts....and spending their gift cards.

But that was not the craziest part. The craziest part was as I walked to the cash registers, I had to pass the card aisle. And do you know what I saw?

Valentine cards! There they were in all their red and pink-hearted splendor, lined up nice and neat where I had just seen Christmas cards a few days earlier.

Did we not just celebrate Christmas...yesterday?!

Craziness I tell you. Craziness.

Hope y'all are having a blessed day-after-Christmas!! : )

Merry Christmas!

Hoping y'all are having a blessed Christmas day...

Zach and I are here in Alabama with my mom. She came home yesterday and her fractured hip is healing and she's getting around with the help of her walker.

I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas and one of those things is the love and support I have received this past year from you, my bloggy friends. I appreciate you all so very much!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! : )

Look who's here!

Zach flew into Omaha this afternoon and I am one happy mama!! : )

The plan was for Zach to be here for a week and then we would both fly back to California to spend Christmas with Ashleigh and her family. But now with all that is going on with my mom, we will be driving down to Alabama this next week and I will spend Christmas in Alabama. We aren't sure what Zach will be doing. Such is our life...so we hold our plans loosely.

Thank you for praying for my mom (and me!). She is still in the hospital and will be there for the next few days while she recovers from a bacterial infection. It was looking like Zach would fly into Omaha and then we'd leave right away for Alabama. But we are holding off for now, as I will need to stay with my mom once she gets home.

So for now I am enjoying the time with my son. We had a great day today hanging out in downtown Omaha and eating at Zio's Pizza and tomorrow is church. I am just *so* excited to have him here! : )

Thank you again for your prayers and love!! Blessings to you all!!

Wondering When the Rain Will Stop

Ash here...

Because you are all so wonderful, so supportive, so prayerful on my mama's behalf... the latest is that my grandmother has had to be transported from the rehabilitation center she's been in this past week back to the hospital due to a myriad of health issues. She now has pneumonia on top of her broken hip and elbow and all the other health issues that have come to the surface the past two weeks.

My mama is exhausted. Please pray for strength... for peace... for wisdom. She has only been in Omaha for a month. It's also been a year this week since Everything Happened. I just don't know how much one person can handle...

I'm thankful for a God who carries her while she carries such a load. It is heavy... but He is strong enough.

My gray is still showing. And may I ask another question?

So I didn't color my hair yet. I was so tired after church yesterday that I actually took a nap instead. For three hours. I guess I was tired, huh? Thanks for your tips and advice. I'll let y'all know what I decide.

Speaking of church...I really like my new church. A lot. I cry every time I go. It's still difficult for me to be at church, even if no one knows me. I suppose that it will be for a while. Healing takes time and the Lord knows that.

It snowed here in Omaha last night. And we are supposed to get more tomorrow. So I am heading out today to run some errands and one of the things I was going to get is a box or two of Christmas cards. Last year, because of the circumstances, I didn't send out cards (although I had ordered cards with our family picture on them to send ::sigh::).

So here is my question: I would like to send a few cards this year, but most of those who I would send cards to, do not know about the divorce. I thought about forgoing cards altogether but we always sent cards, except for last year and a few people contacted me because they were concerned. My question is how do I handle this? Do I put a little note in with the card? If so, what do I say? Do I write a Christmas letter instead? I hate to depress people at Christmas time and this will surely be sad news. The people I am thinking of sending cards to are people who would definitely be concerned to have not heard from us for two years in a row. But I just don't know what to do or what to say.

Suggestions? Thanks!

Happy Monday...stay warm!! : )

Calling all you at-home hair colorists...

Ok...so for the past few years I have been getting my hair colored to cover my gray.

My hair stylist happened to also be my good friend Valerie and she had been doing my hair for nearly 20 years before I moved. I really miss her. Especially right now, as my gray hairs are starting to show through.

And since I don't need a haircut yet and I am all about saving money wherever I can, I want to try to color my hair myself. Tomorrow. After church.

So, if you color your hair yourself...can you give me some tips? Which brand to you prefer and why? Tell me what I need to know. Please. Because I'm scared. : )

Thanks!!



*Image by realsimple.com

It's 13 degrees outside and yes, I really am ok with it...

No one believes me when I say I like cold weather. I do. I've always preferred cold over hot. I can't stand being hot.

Living through summer in the desert was never easy for me. The intense heat brought headaches, nausea and a nearly non existent outdoor life from May to October. When my children were younger, we homeschooled year round so they could spend more time outside in the spring and fall. Ashleigh had difficulties with heat as well, so it just made sense for us.

So here I am in Nebraska. The high today is supposed to be 32 degrees. We had snow flurries yesterday. And I ran a bunch of errands in the cold. Even went to my storage unit and unloaded boxes while the wind was blowing and little snow flakes landed on my face. I am not saying I *love* wind and cold...but I don't mind it. At all. : )

On another note: Thank you for praying for my mom. She is actually doing quite well, all things considered. She was transferred to a nursing/rehabilitation facility on Tuesday and thanks to my dear friend Mitzi, Mom is all settled in with her tv and cell phone. The facility does not provide these services and when you can't move due to a fractured hip and elbow, tv and phone are vital. : ) She is working really hard at her physical therapy to get home as quickly as possible and I am very proud of her.

It was hard to leave my mom on Sunday. I am so emotional right now (my mom, missing my kids, the holidays, the divorce...you name it and I can cry!), but I will see her again in a few weeks when I go back to Alabama. And I am so grateful to my friend Mitzi who has filled in the gap where I cannot be right now. She has been amazing and a huge help in caring for my mom.

And since it's been such an eventful month...I thought I'd share a few pictures. : )

Packing up the house in So Cal. We had lots of family and friends come to help. Here are the Maldies helping to take down the curtains and rods. Yes, I took them. All of them. :)

While we were all busy packing/loading, Merritt decided it would be fun to play in the ashes from the fireplace. Niiiice.


John and Todd were the official movers. They were such troopers, as I had WAY more stuff than they even imagined. : ) Sorry guys!!



Todd is going to be thrilled that this is the first picture of him I am posting on my blog. : ) But it's too good to pass up! This was around midnight or so, the last night at the house in CA. John and Todd had spent hours loading the Uhaul and they were so tired. Todd found a spot on the floor and literally passed out. Brodie the border collie loves Todd. As do Troy and Merritt, who were obviously still awake at midnight watching a movie. : )

On November 21st Zach celebrated his 19th birthday. For the first time in his life, I was not able to celebrate with him, but Ashleigh, John and boys drove to his school and surprised him. I cannot believe my 'baby' is 19!!


Here is my mom in the hospital. She was *not* happy I took her picture. She would be less happy (but not surprised) if she knew I posted it on my blog! : ) She hadn't seen Todd in many years and was so happy to see him again.


We spent Thanksgiving at my Aunt Pat's. It was a difficult day for me, being so far from my kids and the fact that things are so different from last year. My Aunt Pat is battling cancer right now and she worked hard to prepare Thanksgiving dinner and she did a wonderful job. We took a plate of food to my mom so she was able to enjoy a bit of Thanksgiving.

While I spent the day Saturday at the hospital with my mom, Todd took his boys to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. This is Todd with his youngest son, Nick.



Nick and his older brother, Tyler. : )



Driving back to Omaha on Sunday we ran into traffic in St. Louis. Since we were hardly moving, it was a good time to take a picture of the Gateway Arch....

...And later to check my Facebook. : )




The Brode-ster. He has been such a trooper with all the traveling he's done this past month.

And I am including this picture because it speaks volumes: Me being silly and cracking myself up and Todd being his more subdued self. (Actually, he does crack up at himself and then I start cracking up watching him. I know. lol)

Happy Friday everyone! : )

Can I cry uncle yet?

I received a frantic call Monday afternoon from my Aunt Pat in Alabama: My mom had fallen and broken her left hip and fractured her elbow. She was in the emergency room, but was waiting to be admitted to the hospital.

Today my mom had surgery on her hip and I am currently driving through Kentucky as I write this. Well, actually Todd is driving (with two of his boys and Brodie the border collie in the back) and we are making a straight shot from Omaha to Alabama. Obviously we'll be spending Thanksgiving at the hospital.

It's been a rough few days. My Aunt Pat is suffering from lung cancer and my mom has been her caregiver. And as an only child, I am the caregiver for my mom. There are a lot of details to think about and honestly, Monday night I had a bit of a breakdown.

Actually it was more than a bit of a breakdown. It was pretty major. I literally cried my heart out to the Lord and told Him I honestly could not do this...that I could not take another thing...that I was so very tired.

Aren't you glad the Lord can handle our breakdowns? Of course He knows I can't handle this. He's not expecting me (or my mom...or my aunt...or my kids) to handle this alone. That's why scripture says that in my weakness, He is strong and He has shown this to be true so many times this past year.

So here I am once again. Weak. Dependent. Taking one day...one moment at a time. God is good. Always. I believe it.


Thanking the Lord for each of you and wishing a most blessed Thanksgiving Day! Hugs to you!

Settling in...

Setting up my little kitchen

Well...it's official. I'm a resident of Nebraska. : )

And can I just tell you? This is the happiest I've been in a long time.

I made dinner in my little kitchen tonight for the first time. Ashleigh and John have been working hard to help get me settled and I thought it would be fun for them to go on a date and have Troy and Merritt stay the night with me in my apartment. (We've all been staying at Todd's this week.)

So here we are. My two little guys are asleep in my room and I am sitting here blogging for the first time from my little home.

I have peace. I am hopeful. I am blessed.

Thanking you for all for your prayers...

Love and hugs to you!

Omaha bound!

It's done.

With the help of dear friends and family, we packed and loaded up Zach's and my life. It was quite the ordeal, but we got it done.

Said goodbye to the house and town I've lived in for 20 years...gave lots of hugs and of course, there were lots of tears. I walked through the house one last time and then closed the front door...leaving behind wonderful memories of a family that once was and saying goodbye to the awful memories of this past year.

We are making our way to Omaha. This morning finds us in St. George, Utah and then it's on to Leadville, CO today and then Omaha tomorrow.

So if you see a Uhaul truck with a trailer attached, followed by a Jeep Cherokee...with 4 adults, 2 little people and 1 border collie....be sure to wave. : )

Blessings and love to you all!