Heath Osborn, what can I say about my older friend? We met in November of 1997, I had just moved in. You were single, living in Lakeside, the son of great neighbors who have come to mean the world to me and as good of friends as one can have. Your Sister is one of my best friends and we have shared tons of memories with our daughters who are so close in age. You and Adina make our river trips fantastic.
I remember when you started dating Adina (after the whole neighborhood saw your ass way too many times….I’m glad she put an end to that). You both were genuinely happy and a wedding was soon to follow. Your wedding was one of my favorites at Lake San Marcos.
Soon I was introduced to Emerald Cove in Parker, AZ and fun family times. Heather and I drove there ma times with my van loaded with stuff and kids. What can I say about river trips? So many memories. Monsoons, Johnny Wong, Beersby…so many more. Remember when Donald lit your BBQ and almost blew us all up, but then Adina came flying out of the house with Lily, she caught Lily, but fell hard. Remember when I fell off the boat late at night? How about the night you guys went riding the golf cart and it died a mile from the house and you made the girls push it home and then when you got home your Dad started it? What about when your Mom in Law was hammered and fell in the chair and you imitated her, only you fell worse?
Oh so many great memories. I love that my husband knew you in high school and brought you home hammered and snuck you in the door when you couldn’t make your key work….and that your Mom nailed him for it 22 years after the fact.
How about all the block parties? I will never forget the year you and Lou put on those suits and danced to the disco music of the 70’s. Damn we didn’t have YouTube then!
Loved the cruise we all went on in 2007. Good times! The best was when I had my accident and you mocked me while holding Charlee and fell in the waves…..punishment!
You have a beautiful family and a wonderful life. We missed you while you moved to AZ. We are so glad to have you in our lives. Happy Birthday Friend.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Terri Chase, it's your turn!
Come on down, I hear your birthday is coming right up. I am so enjoying the birthday blog and if you are reading this and have a birthday (I bet you do) send it to me and I will try and blog about you.
Terri Chase, this is for you. You sat in front of us most weeks at church. Or we sat behind you depending on how you look at things. You sat with Amanda, and Bruce would join eventually after his welcoming duties. Sabrina was usually volunteering with other kids. Bruce always welcomed us upon arrival too. One time we sat in your seats and you jokingly asked why? We laughed. Church seating is open, but we always sit in the same place and feel off put if someone sits in our row. We have tried out several churches and we always find a place to sit that we somehow find as our own, and we become annoyed when others claim it. What is up with that?
Our girls attend youth group together. We think the world of Sabrina. Amanda is great too, but we really didn't get to know her before she left for school. Sabrina is amazing and has become so beautiful over the last year. I know she has given you issues (hello don't they all??), but I am convinced she is a wonderful young lady in her own right.
A memory that comes to mind is when we had to meet at the church office over an incident that occurred with the kids. That kind of stuff happens rarely because we have good kids, but it was no fun. Thankfully we are within a group of wonderful, realistic, understanding parents who get that their kids will make mistakes…and we can talk openly without judgment. We had some laughs too.
Donald always enjoyed his interactions with you in the course of work. He says you have been very busy lately but I am sure you caught up at the party this weekend. You were always so welcoming at church every week and embraced us and our children unconditionally.
Have a wonderful birthday and enjoy the tater salad recipe too!
Terri Chase, this is for you. You sat in front of us most weeks at church. Or we sat behind you depending on how you look at things. You sat with Amanda, and Bruce would join eventually after his welcoming duties. Sabrina was usually volunteering with other kids. Bruce always welcomed us upon arrival too. One time we sat in your seats and you jokingly asked why? We laughed. Church seating is open, but we always sit in the same place and feel off put if someone sits in our row. We have tried out several churches and we always find a place to sit that we somehow find as our own, and we become annoyed when others claim it. What is up with that?
Our girls attend youth group together. We think the world of Sabrina. Amanda is great too, but we really didn't get to know her before she left for school. Sabrina is amazing and has become so beautiful over the last year. I know she has given you issues (hello don't they all??), but I am convinced she is a wonderful young lady in her own right.
A memory that comes to mind is when we had to meet at the church office over an incident that occurred with the kids. That kind of stuff happens rarely because we have good kids, but it was no fun. Thankfully we are within a group of wonderful, realistic, understanding parents who get that their kids will make mistakes…and we can talk openly without judgment. We had some laughs too.
Donald always enjoyed his interactions with you in the course of work. He says you have been very busy lately but I am sure you caught up at the party this weekend. You were always so welcoming at church every week and embraced us and our children unconditionally.
Have a wonderful birthday and enjoy the tater salad recipe too!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Another Birthday Blog
This time for Sean Renfroe. Sean moved into the neighborhood 4 years ago in Dec 2006. I know we were disgusted with his family because they moved in about 3 days before Christmas and had the nerve to decorate the yard with Christmas crap. Mind you, we go completely nuts at this time of the year with yard crap, but Donald had the flu and we just didn't get it done....the year they moved in. We didn't have a lot of interaction right away. We took a bottle of champagne over to welcome them and we appeared to be very normal...fooled them for a while. Donald and I married in March of 2007. Sean happened to come home as my daughters and I were taking pictures in the front yard and he was very sweet.
We got to know Sean and his family in 2007. They have kids our kid's ages and currently our daughter Sam is their son's girlfriend. That's another blog. So needless to say we got along quickly. They just fit in so well. We invited their family on one of our river adventures. Picture this, Sean and Donald are in the drivers cab of the RV. Charity (his wife) and I are right behind them on a couch and the kids are watching DVD's. We are not more than 3 miles from the house in the RVwhen Sean starts talking about faith and Christianity. I could see Donald recoiling and I was thinking, oh crap, who have we invited on vacation? Neither of us were opposed terribly to religion, but we also didn't want to be recruited. OK, I might have been opposed. Charity, sensing our discomfort shut him down, which was totally funny. However to Sean's credit, our family has found faith and we are all exploring our relationship with Christ. Praise God. We didn't want to go to church, Sean convinced us. We didn't feel it with some churches, but we kept trying and we found a home. Sean is largely responsible for our faith, and I should probably thank him. Thank you friend.
So I got somewhat off track here. The point is, Sean is a wonderful man. He is a leader in faith, he works hard, he is honest, he is a wonderful father and friend. Sean would give you his last penny or the shirt off his back.
Since Sean and his family moved in, we have become very close family friends. We go on family vacations. Our kids are best friends. Charity and I work together. Their son and our daughter as mention previously are bf/gf.
If you happen to read this, ask Sean about squirting lime juice into a good friend's eye....it's a good story.
Happy Birthday Sean. Thank you for everything you are to us.
We got to know Sean and his family in 2007. They have kids our kid's ages and currently our daughter Sam is their son's girlfriend. That's another blog. So needless to say we got along quickly. They just fit in so well. We invited their family on one of our river adventures. Picture this, Sean and Donald are in the drivers cab of the RV. Charity (his wife) and I are right behind them on a couch and the kids are watching DVD's. We are not more than 3 miles from the house in the RVwhen Sean starts talking about faith and Christianity. I could see Donald recoiling and I was thinking, oh crap, who have we invited on vacation? Neither of us were opposed terribly to religion, but we also didn't want to be recruited. OK, I might have been opposed. Charity, sensing our discomfort shut him down, which was totally funny. However to Sean's credit, our family has found faith and we are all exploring our relationship with Christ. Praise God. We didn't want to go to church, Sean convinced us. We didn't feel it with some churches, but we kept trying and we found a home. Sean is largely responsible for our faith, and I should probably thank him. Thank you friend.
So I got somewhat off track here. The point is, Sean is a wonderful man. He is a leader in faith, he works hard, he is honest, he is a wonderful father and friend. Sean would give you his last penny or the shirt off his back.
Since Sean and his family moved in, we have become very close family friends. We go on family vacations. Our kids are best friends. Charity and I work together. Their son and our daughter as mention previously are bf/gf.
If you happen to read this, ask Sean about squirting lime juice into a good friend's eye....it's a good story.
Happy Birthday Sean. Thank you for everything you are to us.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
My Friend Shannon
OK really?? 2011 is the year my computer seeks her revenge on me. Screw that, I'm buying a new one you dumb bitch. I want to write as many birthday blogs as I can. My friend Shannon, though we don’t connect as much as I wish (because I am LAME) is the bestest.
I just wrote about half of a nice blog post about my friend Shannon Walk when the computer dumped it. If this one sucks, the one that got dumped was brilliant!! Shannon and I met in 7th or 8th grade. Honestly I can’t recall. It was at the hell that was junior high for me. Some kids did well in junior high, I spent those years wanting to die. I was a golden child in 6th grade and got knocked on my ass in junior high for a number of reasons. One thing I know, we met in Mr. Walker’s class. Mr. Walker was the Grandpa of a great friend of mine, Natalie Walker. I still know her. Mr. Walker wasn’t a tough teacher. He was the soft landing place all of us in junior high needed in order to learn a little about ourselves. We wrote an autobiography in his class. I have no idea what mine said. I know many of us found some identity in this process. For the record, Mrs. Walker (not sure of the exact relation) was my Campfire Girl leader, another rock in my life.
OK, so my friend Shannon. She had a perfect family. Mom, Dad, Brother, all intact. By the time I met her mine was in shambles. OK, they weren’t perfect, but they sure seemed like it. I know they had the same struggles all families did. Let’s just say they were a wonderful example for me. Sadly Shannon’s Mom was diagnosed with cancer. She fought the tough fight. She drove us to school in carpool when she was going through chemo. I was so oblivious. I knew what was going on, but I really had no idea. I wish I was there more for all of them. When she passed, I felt awful. I went to the service, I cried so hard. I hurt so bad, but I felt so numb because I didn’t know how to help.
We went back to school. I can’t recall talking about it. Maybe we did, I can’t recall. We seemed to have such deep discussions about everything, yet I can’t recall any conclusions we came to.
My family went through their tough times. I can’t recall the discussions. We had so many years together that I think were worth blocking out after that. My family went on to new connections. I thank God for my Dad and Step Mom Shannon went on to some wonderful connections
I’m going to skip to today because I am sure we can agree those years we skipped are tough ones. I have some awesome kids. Shannon has some awesome kids. We are healthy and happy….and on the 5th Shannon turns 41, while her much younger friend stays 40!
Love you Shannon!
I just wrote about half of a nice blog post about my friend Shannon Walk when the computer dumped it. If this one sucks, the one that got dumped was brilliant!! Shannon and I met in 7th or 8th grade. Honestly I can’t recall. It was at the hell that was junior high for me. Some kids did well in junior high, I spent those years wanting to die. I was a golden child in 6th grade and got knocked on my ass in junior high for a number of reasons. One thing I know, we met in Mr. Walker’s class. Mr. Walker was the Grandpa of a great friend of mine, Natalie Walker. I still know her. Mr. Walker wasn’t a tough teacher. He was the soft landing place all of us in junior high needed in order to learn a little about ourselves. We wrote an autobiography in his class. I have no idea what mine said. I know many of us found some identity in this process. For the record, Mrs. Walker (not sure of the exact relation) was my Campfire Girl leader, another rock in my life.
OK, so my friend Shannon. She had a perfect family. Mom, Dad, Brother, all intact. By the time I met her mine was in shambles. OK, they weren’t perfect, but they sure seemed like it. I know they had the same struggles all families did. Let’s just say they were a wonderful example for me. Sadly Shannon’s Mom was diagnosed with cancer. She fought the tough fight. She drove us to school in carpool when she was going through chemo. I was so oblivious. I knew what was going on, but I really had no idea. I wish I was there more for all of them. When she passed, I felt awful. I went to the service, I cried so hard. I hurt so bad, but I felt so numb because I didn’t know how to help.
We went back to school. I can’t recall talking about it. Maybe we did, I can’t recall. We seemed to have such deep discussions about everything, yet I can’t recall any conclusions we came to.
My family went through their tough times. I can’t recall the discussions. We had so many years together that I think were worth blocking out after that. My family went on to new connections. I thank God for my Dad and Step Mom Shannon went on to some wonderful connections
I’m going to skip to today because I am sure we can agree those years we skipped are tough ones. I have some awesome kids. Shannon has some awesome kids. We are healthy and happy….and on the 5th Shannon turns 41, while her much younger friend stays 40!
Love you Shannon!
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