My Sweet Mom

Today (and tomorrow) marks the one year anniversary of the passing of my sweet mother. I miss her so much. I don't have any words to write yet, so I thought I would share some of my favorite photo's of her.

Mom and her favorite animal - Giraffe at Fossil Rim, May 2007

Mom, Dad and Jonathan - Jonathan 1 week old (April 2008)

Jonathan and Mom - July 2008 - Dallas Aquarium

Mom at Michael and my wedding - Oct 2005

Me and Mom - my 27th birthday 

Dad, Me and Mom - goofing off at Amy's wedding

Mom - loving what she did...and picking out fabric for Michael and my home - July 2006

Michael, Waylen, Amy, Dad, me and Mom - at Amy and Waylen's rehearsal dinner

Me and Mom at Michael and my Wedding - Oct 2005

Aunt Kathy, Mom, Grandma O'Brien, Uncle Jim, Aunt Maureen, Grandpa O'Brien, Aunt Susan and Aunt Mary

Mom and Amy - right before we got on the plane to London in 2005

Mom - The Homecoming Queen

Senior Year - isn't she beautiful?

Mom, Dad and Granny Ramage - White Sands New Mexico

Me, Grandma O'Brien, Mom and Amy

Me, Mom, Aunt Catherine, and Aunt Pam

Mom and Me - Christmas 2003

Green Thumb!

Jonathan loves to paint and color! The other morning he was painting while I was doing the dishes, so I had my back to him. When I didn't hear him for a minute or so, I knew before turning around, that something was happening...and I was right! He was very seriously painting his thumb green! This is very funny because, moments earlier, he was fussing for me to come wipe his hands from a couple of specks of paint. I told him it was okay for him to get a little dirty and I would clean him all up when he was done...so I guess he understood me and decided to take advantage! :)

While we are talking about art, I wanted to share this with you...Jonathan painted this about a month or so ago and I will treasure it forever...He sat down to paint, grabbed a piece of paper, paint brush with some purple/green paint and in 3 strokes created this masterpiece! When he finished, he put the paint brush down and looked at me, showed me the painting and said "HAPPY!" - so I will forever feel happy when I look at this. I hope you do too!

Since we are on the subject of Green Thumbs too...just a cute photo I took this morning of Michael and Jonathan working in the yard! :) (Michael's smile says it all...)

Clyde William Day

As I mentioned in my first post "introduction", Amy and Waylen are expecting their second child! Yeah! She is due around 2.5.2011. Recent Sonograms have strongly suggested that this baby will be a BOY!!! This is so exciting for many reasons! 1) Amy has always wanted a little boy and to name him after our father (she "called" the name William at least 15 years ago) and 2) The Day family hasn't had a boy in 30 years! Scarlet was the 6th granddaughter on the Day side.

Amy and Waylen have already made the difficult decision of naming their new little man! Cylde William Day! 
Here is the background on the name:
All Day men have "CWD" initials
Cylde = is Waylen and Wade's (Waylen's father) first name. It is also Amy's and my Great Grandpa's name on my Granny (Waddlen) Ramage's side. 
William = of course is my father's first name and is the first name of all the Ramage men going back a long time.
They will call him William or Will.
   

This week I was so excited, Jonathan and I got to join Amy, Cindy (Amy's mother-in-law) and Scarlet to see Clyde William's Sonogram!!! 
Here are some of the video's I took with my phone, hope the quality isn't bad. And FYI - for the sake of little Will's privacy, I'm not showing the gender part of the sonogram! :)

Will's heartbeat, an arm, his sweet little hand, and his head...then Jonathan getting really excited!

Looking from Will's head down, you can see his arms and hands moving around a lot. Very active little man! Then of course Jonathan and Scarlet enter the picture! :)

Will's little body!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Birthday Continues...

Oh yes, the celebrating continues. My good friend and cousin-in-law and I have a passion for the cheese enchilada's at Mercado Juarez. So we decided to add one more Mexican food restaurant to my list of 4 already. (I will probably add a 6th to the list next week when Shannon and I go to Taco Diner and get our favorite dish!) Thank you for lunch Leanna and Owen!

Jonathan and I got to see baby Owen! He is two months already and such a cutie! Although I didn't get a photo of him, Jonathan was very curious about who was under the blanket...

Jonathan peeking at Owen

Jonathan, Leanna and me!

MY BIRTHDAY!

With almost a week of celebrating already under my belt, I was still ready to party more! So Sunday, August 15th my sweet husband and son had big plans for me! 
We started off by opening presents! One of my favorite parts! To my surprise, I got a fancy telescope! And I mean fancy! Michael and I have recently become really fascinated with the nights sky, so it is cool to get such a thoughtful gift! So if any one wants to come over and star gaze, you are welcome to join us! And by the way, if you have any suggestions for us to go for better viewing around the metroplex, that would be great!

My New Telescope!

Michael and Jonathan also got me a book on teaching me to Crochet. Something else that I mentioned recently that I was interested in getting into! So nice that he listens to me! hehe! Stay tuned for future crocheting projects. And if you have any advice...etc. please pass it along.

After a fun morning of present opening, we met Amy, Waylen and Scarlet at this place called Lambert's. It's a steak house by night, but every Sunday they have Brunch. And oh my goodness, it was some of the best food I have ever had, for breakfast that is. It's all you can eat buffet as well as order off the menu, one price. I had the Eggs Benedict with Prime Rib and Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce! YUMMO! (I had other things too, but that was the most note worthy)
Amy and Waylen surprised me with a cake! It was so good too! (We didn't eat anything else the rest of the day, we were so stuffed!) They also got me "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child. I requested this, since after seeing the movie, Julie and Julia, made me want to cook some French food! So come on over, I'll cook you some French food, crochet you a scarf and you can look at the moon! What more could you want, cause I can't think of anything. :)

My Birthday Cake!

Waylen, Amy and Scarlet!

Group Photo!

Kiddo's sitting like the adults!

Daddy's with their babies!

Scarlet and Jonathan being their cute selves! I just love how Scarlet waves at everyone!

After lunch, Michael, Jonathan and I had planned on going to the Ringling Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Fort Worth convention center. When we arrived, we found 200+ people waiting in line to buy tickets. (we didn't pre-order the tickets and we never have, because we have never needed to) I swear you would have thought that Miley Cyrus was in concert or something! By the time we got to the end of the line, they announced that they were sold out. Oh Well, we were a bit disappointed, but we now know to pre-order for next year. 

Since we were still stuffed from brunch, we headed home and rested. 

The next evening Michael asked our next door neighbors (who offer ALL the time) to babysit Jonathan. So Michael and I got a much needed date night at our favorite Italian place, La Bistro. I always get the Red Snapper, it is SOOO good! And Michael likes their Clams and Linguine. We really enjoyed it!

Yahoo Date Night!

La Bistro, I know it doesn't look like much, but it is SOOO good! Located at 26 and Norwood, in Hurst. My dad introduced us to this little place when we first moved to Hurst and we are so thankful that he did!

Happy Birthday Pat!

My mother-in-laws Birthday is August 14th!! (the day before mine) We will always know that our families will be super busy mid-August! :) (Also mid-November, since my brother-in-law, Brian, is Nov 15 and my father-in-laws in Nov 17.) 
As most of you know, my father-in-law has brain cancer and has been living in a nursing home since the beginning of April. So we met up at the nursing home to celebrate with Theron. Pat, Theron, Anna Marie, Brian, Michael, Jonathan and I all had a pre-dinner chocolate pudding. It was yummy.
Then we took Pat out to dinner at Mario's and Alberto's, a Mexican restaurant in Dallas. (If you are keeping track, this was my 4th day in a row of Mexican food, but I'm not complaining.)
We went back to Pat and Theron's house to have dessert and open presents. Anna Marie made this super yummy dessert. Despite the sadness of Theron not being able to be with us the whole evening as we celebrated Pat, it was a very nice time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!

Jonathan's new trick he learned at dinner, thanks to Uncle Brian! :)

Cutie Pie!

Olga and Pat!

Olga (Michael's Grandmother and Pat's Mother, who lives with her) Pat, Brian, Jonathan and Anna Marie

Anna Marie made this super yummy dessert. 

   

Birthday Week Continued...

My sister-in-law got a new job teaching at the college right around the corner from where we live. Congrats Anna Marie! So she called and asked if she could take Jonathan and I out for lunch on Thursday, Aug 12th. We had such a good time! We went to Abuelo's, one of my favorite places! Thank you so much Anna Marie!

On Friday, Aug 13th, Amy and Scarlet met Jonathan and I for lunch at another one of my favorite places, Joe T Garcia's! Super yummy food! Jonathan loves Scarlet and it had been a couple of weeks since he had seen her last, so he was SOOOO excited. Thank you Amy and Scarlet for a wonderful lunch!

Amy surprised me with these beautiful flowers. (I took this photo today, not the day she gave them to me)

Jonathan, Scarlet and Amy at Joe T's

Video of Jonathan kissing Scarlet!

Jonathan, Me, Amy and Scarlet went to J. Rae's after Joe T's, a nice bakery that specialize in cup cakes. Yummy!

After Amy and I went to J. Rae's, Jonathan and I went next door to a new Vintage Resale store. It was a really cool place! Anyone near the Fort Worth area should check it out, It's called Bess & Evie's Vintage! So, I bought myself this new/old handbag! I love it!

Birthday Week

My last post was a reflection on my first 28 Birthday's of my life. Even though it is sad to me to move on without my parents, I am one lucky girl to have so many wonderful people in my life!! Thank you everyone for making my birthday special! I got so many sweet phone calls, cards, texts, FB messages...you name it. I felt truly loved! It is really what I needed this year to help get me over the 'hump'! Thank you!

To start off the birthday week, my aunt Holly and uncle Jim invited Jonathan and me over for dinner on Wed night. (they invited Michael too, but he was visiting his father that evening.) What a wonderful evening it was!! We ate yummy Animia's fajitas, then Jim and Jonathan went up stairs to play. Holly and I actually got to sit, sip coffee, eat dessert and TALK! This is very rare for me these days, so it was awesome to girl talk with no interruptions! We ate Lemon La Madeleines in honor of mom, since that was one of her favorite desserts!



As one of my gifts, both Holly and Jim wrote me very sweet and thoughtful notes about my parents. I LOVE to hear stories and memories about my parents, so if you have any, please feel free to send them my way! :)


Holly's letter included photos of my parents and she told stories about each of the photos, a true treasure! Thank you so much Holly!!! This is one of my favorite photos in the letter! I had never seen it before!

My Grandpa Norman, my uncle Rick, my Dad, my uncle Jim and my uncle Mike. I think this is probably Christmas '74, at my Grandparent's home. Holly said she believes this was the first time she ever met my dad. - Can I just say...WOW! Sean, you look just like your dad in this photo, my dad is wearing Tie-Die, I love Jim's mustache and Justin, you look just like your dad too!   

In my uncle Jim's letter, he told a very funny story that went along with the time frame of this photo and I would like to share with you:
All the O'Brien kid's and their boyfriends and girlfriends would gather at my my Grandparents house on a typical Saturday evening. That day my dad had been out and overheard two men talking to each other in Spanish. It seemed that every time one man would say something, the other one would respond in a serious low deep voice "bueno". Then the other would say something and the first one would respond in a serious low deep voice "bueno". My dad told everyone that evening about what he had overheard earlier that day and for the next 2 hours, everyones sides were sore from laughing. Every time anyone would say anything to my dad, he would respond in a serious low deep voice "bueno" and everyone would start laughing again.
Thank you Jim for sharing this story, I laughed out loud when I read it, simply because, that is such a dad thing. I can totally see him doing that!

My 28th Birthday

The obvious birthday downer was the absence of my parents...my first birthday without both of them. Sadness set in the Sunday prior to the big day. I allowed myself a couple of days to be "blue", then with Amy's great news on Tuesday, I snapped out of it!! (the good news was that they are having a baby BOY!!)


The wonderful thing about my parents was they both liked to make a really big deal out of Birthdays. There was always a big celebration and wonderful gifts. It was always a blast. They always made Amy and I and even our husbands feel so loved and appreciated around our Birthday's. I would give anything to have one more night filled with the love and laughter of my parents.  

Amy and I will continue on with the Big Celebration tradition, while it will never be the same with out our parents, we will strive to make them proud and give the blessing to our children that they gave us.

My last Birthday with both my parents was my 28th! It was an extra special Birthday, because Michael and I had just found out a couple of days before that we were expecting Jonathan! It was such a fun night that I will never forget! It was just so cool to me to tell my parents I was expecting on my own Birthday.

Dad, Mom, Amy and Waylen...right after Michael and I told them we were expecting!

Dad, Mom, Michael, me, Amy and Waylen

Mom, me and Michael!

Dad and Amy

Mom, Me and Dad outside of Pappadeux's.

Dad and Mom..the glowing Grandparents to-be.

This photo always cracks me up! It's mom as she is tackling Michael after we gave them the news! She was screaming, "You did it! You did it!" - Michael and I were confused by this, and she explained that it was from a 'Funniest Home Video' clip where a little boy said that to his father after they told the boy he was going to have a sibling. - Leave it to mom! She made us laugh!

Kiddos Dancing

I'm trying out the video feature...this is the 4th of July this year. Amy, Waylen, Scarlet, Michael and I went to the downtown Fort Worth picnic celebration thingy. It was really windy...sorry. Both of our kiddos like to dance!

Introduction!

I thought it was time to start blogging about my wonderful family and other fun things. I hope you will enjoy reading what I have to say. Thank you for visiting my site!

I am a wife and mother of two amazing boys! My occupation is a stay-at-home-mom...So I guess when I was 5 years old, I really did know what I wanted to do in life! Jonathan, my 28 month old son and I dream, think and play all day. I love my husband very much and I let him know constantly how thankful I am that I have the gift of staying home with our child. Michael, my husband, and I will be married 5 years in October. I am blessed by my sweet boys. 

Me, Jonathan and Michael on Mother's Day this year at Fossil Rim.

I have a wonderful older sister and best friend, Amy. She is married to a great man who takes such good care of her and together they have a beautiful little girl named, Scarlet. They have just learned that they will have an addition to their family in Feb 2011! A BOY!!! I am so excited to meet this new little man! He will be loved, no doubt! (I know the name, but don't know if I can tell it yet, so stay tuned!)

Amy, Scarlet and Waylen. Sorry this is older photo from Christmas 2009, but it was the only one I had with all 3 in it. I will take a new photo and post soon!

My amazing mother and father have recently passed away. I miss them dearly. They were my best friends and my mentors. I will talk about them more...later and as my emotions allow.

Dad and Mom on Mother's Day 2007.

I have a wonderful Parent In-Laws. Pat and Theron are great to me, Michael and especially Jonathan! Unfortunately, Theron, my sweet father-in-law is suffering with brain cancer. He was diagnosed only 3 short weeks after my mother passed away last year. We continue to pray for him, Pat and the family as they go through this difficult time.

Pat, me, Theron, Jonathan and Michael at the Rangers game in June. (You can't see Theron that well...the lady was real nice that offered to take the picture, I guess I didn't think to ask her to make sure we were ALL in the photo!!!!)

So that is the short version of my life...more to come very soon!