HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY CJ!!!!

Today we are celebrating CJ's GREAT 8 Birthday!!! We have a friend party tomorrow so it should be fun!

CJ I love you so much buddy! You are such a doll and so loving!

Here are 8 things about you that I love, admire and appreciate!

-Your eyelashes they are so long and cute!!! (not to mention they look like dad's which we know i love hehehehe)

-Your beautiful blue eyes you make me melt when I look into them!!!

-Your smile from ear to ear makes me smile not only outside but inside as well

-How hard you work at school! You are so determined to excel and you are DOING it!!!

-How hard you have been working on your speech! You are doing so AMAZING

-How loving you are to your siblings when they are sad. Just Monday when Aubrey was so sad you didn't hesitate to hug and comfort her when she was crying.

-Your HUGS are the best

-How you say Good Night...."Goonite mom sweep tight don't let va sharks bite"

CJ I hope you have a WONDERFUL Birthday I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SON!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU MY DEAR BABY BOY!!!!

-Mom

HAPPY 9TH BIRDAY PATRICK!

Today Patrick turned a whooping 9 years old! We had a swimming party for him yesterday which was a total blast..He kept saying "Mom this is the best party EVER" he was so excited. We had cheeseburgers for dinner last night and today he wanted "Mom's special homemade Mac & Cheese w/sausages" he was so happy when we ate dinner tonight it is his total favorite he must have eaten 6 servings...He said "Mom I can't stop eating cuz it is soooo good"

I am so grateful to be part of such an amazing little guy's life. Boy how he has grown and matured. He is the most compassionate loving kid. He is the most caring boy ever. He is always looking out for his lil bro CJ and he is always protecting "sissy" he is so darn cute....

Patrick I want you to know how special you are and how grateful I am to have you as my son.

Kanga I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!! I love you soooo much!!!

-Mom

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY LOVE!

I just wanted to take a moment and tell my wonderful husband Happy Anniversary! Babe I love you more than anything in this world! Thank you for loving me, being so kind, caring, supportive, loving....I could go on and on...I know I am not always the easiest person to be married to especially with my health nightmares but you always stand by me...and love me unconditionally.....

Here is to the rest of our lives together Sweetie!!

Love you TONS!!!!

Airports/Airlines -the things that suck...

If you have been following my very sporadic blogging you will know that I have been doing a lot of traveling lately....As I was walking thru DIA (Denver International Airport)on Friday night I thought for just a moment about how I should seize the "un-expected" extra time and update my blog..Needless to say it didn't happen, but not because I didn't have the best intent but rather as the title of this blog states "Airports/Airlines the things that suck"....So I decided to enlighten all of you with my thoughts on Airports & Airlines...

First and foremost can I say "SECURITY CHECK" bless the lovely TSA folks that have to deal with us impatient travelers that just want to get thru....those of us that just want to by-pass the making sure all liquids, gels, aerosols etc are smaller than 3oz, and making sure ALL of it fits in ONE (yes just one that is all you are allowed) of those cute (note the sarcasm) ziploc bags...no I am not talking the gallon size ones just the regular good ol' sandwich size ziplocs...which is really hard to do. I arrive at security after presenting my boarding pass and drivers license (mind you they look at it look at me look at it look at me) and get some snickerish remarks about the fact that my DL picture shows me w/light brown hair and currently I am blonde! Ok hello just cuz my hair color changed doesn't mean I am a terrorist! Anyhow finally I am at the part where I have to strip down taking off my shoes, belt, bracelet, coat, sweater etc then proceed to dig my laptop out since it has to be in it's own tub...Finally I think I got everything....after taking up 5 bins and a lil round one for the odds and ends....I proceed to walk thru the detector thing that really likes to beep at me...I set it off then you hear loudly "SECURITY CHECK" everyone turns and looks at me..they guide me to a "special" screening area and do further wanding inspection...The wand gets to my lower back and it beeps I say as I said as I walked thru in the first place I have metal in my back...They proceed to wand me several more times before finally letting me go on my way....I know all this jazz is to keep us safe but my heck give me some sort of "hall pass" on screening! And honestly what am I going to do hi-jack the freaking puddle jumper plane??? Holding up my bottle of hair spray and using my tooth brush as a knife??? Ok ya'll have heard enough about security.

Point 2...If I book a round trip NON-STOP flight....that usually means I DO NOT WANT TO STOP! I mean seriously here are my choices from flying out of my cute lil' airport an hour away....There is the ta da 6 am Denver flight and the oh so appealing 2:15ish Denver flight...and last but not least the late fight to guess where???? Denver...Did you notice my choices?? All 1 location Denver..no where else...I don't get frequent flyer miles w/this lovely airline so I really am earning nothing when they decide as we are on the tarmac with no bathroom yes ladies and gents there is NOT a bathroom on the plane...no beverage or snack service to top it off my lil' airport when you go thru security there are no vending machines to buy a drink...So basically for the flight which isn't bad only an hour I am bathroom and drinkless which I guess in theory is a good combo, however when again you are on the tarmac and they say and by the way we are stopping in Alamosa to pick up some more passengers and it is no big deal...I pop up and think in my heat it is a BIG DEAL I did not plan on an extra 1.5 hours so I need a drink I have cotton mouth and I drank 3 cups of coffee before I arrived at the airport since it was only 4 am when I left my house!!!!!!! Of course I have to use the lil' girls room they won't let me get off in Alamosa so I concentrate very hard for the duration to not kill over dead from dehydration or wet the seat I am sitting in.

Point 3 if you are going to call it a crew doesn't it have to be more than 2 people??? "The Crew" Our lovely flight attendant for the trip is none other than the co-pilot...who goes thru some stupid safety information then plays an overhead instruction on how to use our seat cushions as flotation devices...Um HeLLo we are flying over the MOUNTAINS i am thinking if we crash there isn't a way in hell we are going to make a safe water landing...At this point you can't really hear the overhead instructions on how to get out safely because the engines twin propellers are cranking and anyhow I am to distracted to pay attention cuz I sware I see Fred Flinstone running beside the plane getting us up to speed so we can take off....even if i wasn't distracted by Fred I wouldn't be able to understand anyhow since I reach for my ear plugs so i can at least hear myself think...think about the fact that wow I am the only passenger on the plane...or why they made me sit in the back for weight reasons, or why I saw them throw sand bags in the cargo area, wondering if by some crazy insane possibility we do a crash landing into the water and we all know I didn't listen to those instructions.....

Point 4...Delays I know reality is there are always delays, but that being said it is really nerve wracking when you are in the terminal waiting to board and all you hear is flight 5678 is delayed for mechanical reasons, flight 1498 is delayed due to electrical problems. On Friday I sware the entire time I was there not one flight got out on time, including mine which was supposed to depart at 8:56pm when we finally boarded around 10 getting our hopes up only to sit in the freezing damn plane for 30 mins getting de-iced....Mind you they had given us ~15 different times we were supposed to depart by the time we finally did...Seriously just be realistic don't tell me we are going to depart in 10 mins when our plane is not even there yet!!! I guess my point is....don't make it sound better than it really is especially when my poor hubby is standing by waiting to hear from me so he can drive to the airport to get me!!!

Point 5....lost luggage...you probably are wondering why I have all these liquid rules and why I just don't check my bag since they aren't limited in size if you check it...Well it all has to do with the fact that I did check my bag once...and if you recall I only have 1 destination I am not switching planes not going further than Denver yet they managed to loose my luggage??? How in the heck??? I give up so I just plane side at least I know I handed it to the trustworthy co-pilot that is standing next to the plane as I board....Why is he trustworthy? Cuz he is flying w/me and you can bet your bottom dollar if they can't find it when I land I have someone that I KNOW I can yell at....

Needless to say I am sure the TSA and an"un-named airline" employees just love seeing and dealing with me every other week. (I still have a few more trips to make hence the not naming the airline, as I might cause myself some bodily harm who knows maybe they will try and do a safe water landing just to prove that you should listen..

Now that you have all seen the fact that my patience are running a little thin and clearly I would not be a good fit for a job with TSA or the Airline's I will leave you with one last thought.....

Really if this all didn't happen what would I have to complain to all of you about??

Slacking-yet again

Well as you can see I have yet been slacking again on my blogging. Life is just to busy that is what I have determined, I thought after Christmas things would just slow down, but reality is nope they are just as busy. Christmas was great we had such a good time. We spent Christmas Eve at our house and our good friends Bryan & Jymi came over and we hung out. Christmas Day we did the traditional opening presents and such and we were invited over to Jymi's parents house for Christmas Dinner. Of course not being with all of our extended family was different but at the same time it was really neat to be part of a family function yet be so far away from our own. All of Bryan and Jymi's family are amazing at including us in family stuff since we don't have family down here. I am truely grateful for all of thier acceptance and love :) You guys are awesome!

Mom & Dad came down the day after Christmas and spent the weekend with us, other than Dad getting sick it was a really nice time. It was good to see them since it has been a while. Thanks for making the trip Mom & Dad!

We have been keeping busy of course now that I am traveling to Denver every other week leaving on Tues morning (at butt dark early) and getting home at 1130 at night on Thursday's makes for some serious much needed attention to the kids, house, dogs etc. Jim has been great about trying to keep the house tidy while I am gone so I don't come home to a disaster. Also Bryan and Jymi have been great about helping with the kids if Jim get's paged out while I am gone and so on. I am so grateful for thier friendship, love and everything!

The kids are all doing great! Darrien has offically come off his attendance and grade contract meaning his attendance and grades are much much better YA! Connor and Patrick are having a great time with scouts and playing thier new Wii video games. CJ has been having a blast playing with his friend Machiah. Aubs is obviously playing with her friends and also dance has started back up.

Well other than the normal everything is good here on the Walker front!

I also want to send get well soon wishes to Kaitlyn! She just got her tonsils, adnoids and ear tubes taken out! She is such a cutie and a trooper!!! Get better soon beautiful!!!

Thanksgiving

My friend Marcie inspired me to post all the things I am thankful for! Marcie thanks for the great idea!

This Thanksgiving is going to be the hardest one I have had in a long time, actually in my entire adult life. Every year we have always been around extended family. Last year all of Jim's family made the journey down here to spend it with us and it was such a great time! This year Jim is on call and all of our family is going to other places which is really wierd for me. My brother, sister, Dad and my beloved Mother were always always at my house for the Holiday's this year I won't have that and I am not exactly sure what to do? Honestly I don't know how to cook small. I guess I should be grateful that I have my immediate family around.

so here are the things I am thankful for...

Darrien the smartie pants he is
Connor for his hugs, snuggles & kisses
Patrick his random stories and imagination
CJ his beautfuil eyelashes and his laugh
Aubrey her outgoing personality
My wonderful husband need I say more? Actually I do Jim is my rock, my foundation, my best friend, his love, his kisses and most of all the way he makes me feel I love him so much I don't even know of any words to say to emphazise it any more
My brother Kylon he is always there for me
My sister Michelle and her crazy stories that make me laugh
My Mom even though she is not by my side physically she is in my heart
My Dad his crazy stories and his love
My Gramma Tanner she is the most caring Gramma a gal could ask for
My Mother & Father in law how they have accepted me and the kids in thier life and love us
My job especially during these times even if some days I feel like pounding my head against the wall
Jim's job him being able to save lifes
My home...even if it is not always the cleanest it is our Home
And of course my friends who I love dearly
Even if my health isn't the greatest I am thankful I am alive and not as bad off as I could be
All of our extended family that we love

There are so many things in this world to be thankful for! I have learned to not take things for granted because plain and simply life is to short!

I am thankful for each one of you and how you have made a difference in my life!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love you all!

Happy 9th Birthday Connor Aldon!

9 years ago today at exactly this moment Connor Aldon came into this world. He is such a special kid and boy are we glad we have him! He is the peacemaker the one that protects the others, you will often find him reaching out to Patrick to make sure he feels important, he will read to his little sister and help clean up around the house. He also is a very loving little boy there isn't a day that goes by that Connor isn't giving Dad & I kisses and hugs telling us how much he loves us, and not at the normal times like bed time either.

Connor you are such a special lil man, I am so proud of you and who you are. Dad & I love you so much and hope you have a wonderful year!

Happy 9th Birthday Buddy!

We LOVE you!

9 things I love about Connor:

-His compassion
-His love
-The way he tells a story so into it!
-How he protects Patrick
-His hugs and kisses
-When he turns his head and smiles at you
-How he has to have his blue blanket to go to sleep each night so he can play with the "nobbies"
-How smart he is
-How strong he is, his ability to fight like heck when he needs to!