November 28 2009

This will be a day we will never forget! The day that precious Benjamin Lucas was born. Our little handsome man has been such a gift. We love him so much!

New Life

Two weeks ago Jon and I spent 4 days in Monterey and Carmel our celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It was much needed and thoroughly enjoyed.

My boss tipped me off on a GREAT place to stay in Monterey - our little bungalow was right on the sand and we could see the ocean straight ahead as well as hear the waves crash all night. It was like a lullaby for us! We were cooled by ocean breeze and warmed by our fire - it was heaven!!!!

Check it out http://www.thesanctuarybeachresort.com/photo_gallery.html - I would HIGHLY recommend it if you are going to stay in the area! You even get your own golf cart to tootle around in!

I will post some pictures once we have downloaded them - the weather was gorgeous - we ate well and spent WAY too much money.

Since Jonathan grew up in the bay area - we went to some of his favorite digs including his favorite bakery - sadly it had changed quite a bit so the childhood memory was busted but the food was great! We indulged of course. It was like NEW life for us!!!

All in all it was a great relaxing trip. We are going back in May - since I will be working in San Jose again we are going to do a repeater!

We are now trying to decide where to go on both our family vacation this year and our own personal vacation. We are hoping to jot to Europe in September so we will need a tropical place for our trip!

Any suggestions??? We are open!

No Baby...

With an incredibly heavy heart - more like broken - I add this new blog.

Life has been a crazy ride since my last entry in October 2008 when we announced we were finally having a baby. We prepared - set up a nursery (against our better judgement "just in case") getting ready for our new Baby Boy.

Two weeks ago right before I was headed to Europe for a business trip - we had a call that our "birth family" had decided to keep their baby...our baby.

So we cried 'til we could cry no more, screamed and pleaded with the Lord, cried a whole lot more and then worked through the rage. Now we are coping and trying to see where we will land next. The baby is due this Friday 02/13 the day before Valentine's Day - we are hoping with what faith is left in us that by some small miracle the birth parents will have their hearts softened and make a decision to call us and ask us to adopt the baby. It's a slim slim chance - but we can't help but have some small bit of hope.

If this does not happen we will try again - but it is a tough to continue with a broken heart and broken trust.

Anyway - we are doing okay and hopefully I will pick up blogging again. Stay tuned for more happy news in the future!

Ashley the Actress

We all went ot Scottsdale last night to see Ashley in the play "Our Town".
Here are a few photos - although none of her during the play and only one after because photography was not allowed. :(

She did a great job - the kid has a future in show biz. It was fun to se her in character and to hear her director rave about her talent.
Ashley usually does comedy improv at a club in Scottsdale, but this was a new venue for her and she was just FAB!
A few more pics of us - it was COLD (by Arizona standards anyway!

Holiday Fun!!

Can I just say that I love - love - love - love this time of year. I love all the holiday cheer and all the cooler weather. Nothing is better than cuddling under a thick down comforter, sipping hot chocolate and watching a bonafide chick flick (Bridget Jones, Love Actually or Rattle and Hum)...

I do miss the snow and the changing leaves, but it is now cold enough to wear a sweater and not just in the freezing air conditioned building in which I work! :)

I am especially excited that Lisa Smith (aka Croy) and her two boys Holden and Carsen will be joining us for Thanksgiving. I can't wait - we will have her little family here with us for 5 WHOLE days.

Anyway - my goal while she is here is to introduce her to the tech highway and get her on facebook and blogspot so you can each chat it up with her also. We shall see!

Happy Fall and all that it brings!

Ethan's Blessing Day

So little baby Ethan was blessed on Sunday and he looked so handsome. Brett gave an amazing blessing and not a dry eye in the place! So sweet - Alicia and Brett are fantastic parents.

Brett, Alicia and Ethan (we could no get a great pic as he was really wiggly)


Here are all the men : Dad, Jonathan, Brett, Bro. Moeller (Brett's Dad) and Uncle Moeller...


We really did not get a full family photo because of everyone's church obligations and callings - so too bad but we will have tons of family photos coming with the holidays! Stay tuned...

I hate Laundry!

For the first time in 10 years of marriage I held an informal boycott against the laundry. And of course it just kept growing and I remained stubborn! I mean come on -why does laundry grow so rapidly (and keep in mind we are only 2)and I know that some reading this are not playing the old violin of mercy for me - but really you have to understand. Laundry is about as bad as grocery shopping...I would rather clean toilets!
And so as you can imagine, this weekend I humbly carried 8 loads of laundry down to the laundry room and began the grueling task of washing, drying, folding, ironing, hanging - you get the picture. But being a bit A.D.H.D as I am ... I got distracted and it seemed easier to just pile it into the baskets sitting conveniently near by. Soooo...5 HUGE loads later - I have made a bigger mess for myself and now have insured several more hours ironing for myself. See for yourself (this by the way is a king size bed)imagine the load.

I should be smarter than this. So lesson learned...laundry added back to the daily task list. Pays off in the long run as much as I hate to admit it!

AHHH - London!

Another business trip takes me to Europe...this time England, Germany and Italia!I took a ton of pics in London because we had one day in which we had 6 hours non business related to hit the town. One of my colleagues had never been to London and since it is like a second home for me - we hit it and conquered it in 6 hours. It was amazing and since he forgot his camera - I was the picture maniac for us!

We had a blast but when we woke up the next morning to catch the flight to Berlin, we really felt the whirlwind of the night before. I am getting older...and at times like that one I suddenly felt it. Oh how I hate reality!

Here I am in London just outside the Tower of London - it was FREEZING and wet as England always is!


Here is a magnificent pic of the Tower Bridge (many people think this is the London Bridge)...


Big Ben...

And of course Hard Rock LONDON for the famous wall dedicated to U2! I can't pass it up, I think I go each time I am in London! I think the crazy U2 fan in me hopes BONO and the clan just might show up! (everyone has to have a dream!)


I am grounded with no more business trips until first quarter of 2009 so it will be nice to just chill for a bit. I always love to travel but it is not the best on business except for First Class flights on British Airways...of that I have no compliants!

Ethan = 1 Month Old

So here is an updated look at little Ethan...Jon and I are having so much fun playing with our little nephew and spoiling him ROTTEN. He is getting blessed this Sunday and I am sure Alicia will have him looking as handsome as ever. She often has several different outfit changes during the day - he always very well groomed!

Here is Auntie Ashley who is in LOVE with Ethan...

Proud Mama and Aunt Angela - what a great Pic...

And of course - I love him a little bit too!

ENTER : Ethan Kenneth Moeller

Alicia and Brett had their baby this past week.

Baby boy - as dad would say "Call sign" Ethan Kenneth Moeller!

He came bouncing into the world at 8lbs-6oz, 20inches long with a load of dark hair and definitely Alicia's cheeks.

Daddy, Mama and baby are all well. Ethan has been in the NICU due to a few complications so Jon and I do not have pictures with him in our arms yet. He is due to be released the end of next week.

Here are a few photos to enjoy!

Wrestlemania Puppy Style

What the heck is up with MIRO?

On the right side of our blog we listed some of our favorite things...one is naming Miro paintings - it is contagious, we love it - you will see. We added MIRO paintings to the bottom of our blog - can you guess what the names are - "Bird on Woman" is not the only title! Guess and then check it - it will make you laugh!

BLOG - Memory Game

Carrie - I am playing - not just spying!

I got this from Carrie's blog who stole it from Maren's blog. If you are reading this, you have to do it.

1. Add a comment to this post on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot…anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses.

I am with Carrie that if you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

And if you don't have a blog...do it anyway.

Chloe - the "herder"!

Welcome Chloe Elder!

Since the departure of "stealth" kitty - our pup (and I can admit WE) have been pretty sad. Ceasar has been moping around the house with sad eyes and no one to wrestle with.
So we found Chloe...and she is so "PRECIOUS"! We rescued her from http://www.poundpuprescue.org/ which is a foster home that shelters the pets that the Humane Society and Animal Control cannot house. She is 8 weeks old and is a Lab/Border Collie mix. She is hilarious. She looks like a lab except for the black and white border collie markings and ears (which are so cute) - she has a great temperament - but she likes to herd me around the house - like I am cattle. She grabs my pant legs, socks - skin - whatever and guides me to where she thinks I need to go. Jon just laughs - she does not do it to him at all. I have little nipping bruises on my arms and legs - we are working on not biting when she herds. We will not be able to get rid of the herding since it is absolute instinct - but we can turn into not nudging and not biting! This is her favorite toy - her "Puppy Kong" which she shares begrudgingly with Ceasar - he is not so good at sharing! :) As you can see she has some remnants of "Kong" cookie on her nose! So cute! Ceasar LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her - they wrestle and play all day if allowed. We caught a little video of them wrestling which I will add later today!

Stealth Kitty

Well - he has done it - he finally made the great escape. Palladio (our beloved cat) has been trying to escape in every possible way for about 2 years. He wants to go outside so badly (he watches the dog), but every time he gets outside he throws himself down on the cement, rubs around and then at the slightest thump or movement he races to the door and house for safety. He thinks he is a "tough" tom cat.

Last Thursday night he made an escape- we think it happened when Jon and I returned home from visiting a neighbor. The porch light was not on and being "Stealth" kitty he must have snuck out on our way in. The sad thing is that we merely shut the door - locked it and headed upstairs to bed. It was late... Ceasar woke us up in the night barking like a maniac - but we did not think anything of it. As I see it - he must have been trying to tell us that his buddy was locked outside...we did not realize that he was missing until mid morning Friday when he did not come when we shook his food.

I suddenly realized that he did not wake me at 4am with his heavy feet crawling on me, and he did not bat my alarm clock off the night stand when I did not respond to his heavy paws, and he was not waiting for me when I got out of the shower to lick the water off my ankles. I suddenly began to frantically look everywhere in the house as he is also great at hide and seek. But to no avail - he was not in the house. I headed out to the neighborhood - asked all the workers building houses if they had seen our "Gato"... nope - asked the foreman of our development if he had seen Palladio - nope, asked the sales office manager if they had seen our cat - nope - wandered around calling for our cat bawling my eyes out - no cat!

I called Jonathan and we prayed - no cat. We posted signs in the neighborhood with pictures and a $100.00 reward - no cat. We called the Humane Society, Animal Control and the local Cat orphanage - no Palladio. Our whole family went on hunts and dad spent 2 hours combing the landscape around our house - no cat. We were heart broken and so was the dog. Palladio raised Ceasar - we had him for 9 years. He taught Ceasar to growl, hit with his paws, stretch like a feline and to curl up in a ball to sleep.

We are hoping that he has been picked up by a sweet family who loves him and does not realize that we are missing him. Unfortunately, with bobcats, owls, coyotes, rattle snakes, and 115 degree heat we are afraid our timid little prince did not make it very far. We have been mourning our loss for over a week and have cried many times. We loved him so much - even though he was a CRAZY cat! So here's to Palladio - may we meet him again some day!

NOBAMA Tee

A few have asked where they can get the cool "NOBAMA" T-shirt featured below :

Here is the link - go crazy!

http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/anti-obama-white-tshirt/266476967

The Pride before the FALL

Okay - so browsing the web this is what we find - can I puke? Has Obama been elected already?

Do his people know what they are paying for? I call for an audit and a removal of that chair on the "O" Force One ...

Can someone please tell me what he is really going to do for our country? He certainly cannot.

Sorry - I am feeling pretty strong about this and I usually like to keep my blogs nice and fluffy - but I am so sick of this guy.

But here is my prediction as I stated to Jonathan yesterday - this clown just asked for all of Michigan and Florida to be seated meaning counted for Hillary. I think since Mrs. Clinton has been uncharacteristically quiet that they will count the seats for Obama - the real win will go to Hillary and we will have an incredible flip at the Democratic convention. I think Obama is the Clinton stool pigeon.....just you wait!

Takes alot of Humility

Ok - this is a plea in great humility to all of our friends and family that may be peeping our blog.

As many of you know, Jonathan and I have been trying to have babies for about 5 years - I mean really trying. We have endured 4 miscarriages and 1 tubal pregnancy. I can say that it has been our only trial -but a very very emotional one. We have spent the past year working with a fantastic doc at Stanford doing IUI treatments and some endometriosis treatments. We are both extremely exhausted emotionally and physically.

We have recently decided to take a break from the "science experiment" as Jon calls it and just breathe. We have also decided to start homeopathic detox and head into adoption full throttle. We are a bit timid going into the whole adoption again, as we already had 2 fall through in the past two years when both birth mothers decided just days before giving birth that they were going to keep their babies...great for them - gut wrenching and heart breaking for us.

Many of you may be asking - why tell us all of this - and I will tell you. We need your help. We want to reach out to all of our friends who may know someone, a family member, friend, co-worker...anybody who is looking for a couple with a lot of love and security to entrust raising their child. We just met with our adoption agency and although they do a great deal of leg work for us - their advice was to get out there and network with everyone we know.

So - I am starting here and using my social skills although it is VERY hard for me to ask this - sounds kind of desperate, and in a way I guess we are.

Jonathan and I are blessed to have found each other and have had 9 1/2 WONDERFUL years of marriage. We have been able to do and see so much and really become rooted together in our relationship, our religion, our faith and purpose. The one thing that we feel is missing is the expansion of our family. (We cannot discount our pets, however not quite the same weighting as a child!)

So with incredible humility and a bit of embarrassment we ask for you to put your feelers out and if you find someone who might be a great fit for us - let us know.

We are continuing to pursue our own pregnancy - but for now are just on a break and back to enjoying the days as they pass instead of "charting" them! :)

We are grateful for each of you and all you do to touch our lives and for all the support you have offered over the years. We have definitely needed it and it has helped strengthen our hope, faith and determination.

Alicia's Baby Shower

Come one, Come all to Alicia's Baby Shower on Saturday August 9, 2008.

Time passes so quickly.

STOLE it!!

Check this out - stole it from Carrie (off her blog - back to blog spying) and LOVE IT - LOVE IT - LOVE IT!

Can someone PLEEEAAASEEE shut this clown up? Where can I get this T-shirt?