Yummy Yummy!

Today we had some friends over and decorated sugar cookies. For me, sugar cookies, and Christmas go hand in hand. The rest of the year, I would always choose a chocolate chip cookie, but during this time of year, for some reason...sugar cookie! Miah, Mikelle, Jayde, Scott, Macey & Sydney seemed to have lots of fun. Us grown ups didn't help much with the decorating. They did such a good job all on their own.
Sydney and Macey love me even more now, because they got to eat as much frosting as they could stand!!

These are a few of my favorite things!

So my friend, Laurie, as you all know has 6 kids. Wow! 2 sets of twins!!! And, the 4 of them, are a few of my favorite things. Sydney and Macey are the oldest. Their personalities are infectious. Sydney is so adventurous, high energy, the leader of the pack and just plain entertaining. Macey, is a bit more cautious. She wants to do everything that Sydney does, but she is just a bit reluctant. One of the greatest things about Macey, is that she LOVES ME!!! I feel confident in making that statement. She loves her some Kimmy! Jaxie Faxie, and Kennedy bo bennedy are the younger set. Jaxie is the sweetest trooper you could ever meet. His lips are so yummy. Kennedy, is a smart little thing. With the two older sisters to follow around all day, she is definitely learning the ropes. Of course the older 2 Jayde, and Prince are equally as special, it's just that I have those at home. Ha Ha! I don't have any little ones anymore. I am positive that I do not want anymore of my own, but I love getting my hands on these sweet little ones.
My friend, Dena is about to have her second little one. A little girl. Woo hoo- So I will be able to get my baby fix for a good while.

This is a picture of Dena's little boy, Tanner. Oh my gosh- how cute!! Thankfully, I get hugs from everywhere. But, it has been a while since I have seen Tanner. We will have to get together real soon.

Happy Birthday- Joan Eileen!

Well, 60 years ago today, my mom was born. Which means, 60 years ago today, my Nanny was giving birth to her. Time is simply an amazing thing, that is hard to understand and grasp. For example, when you are waiting for results from the doctor, or waiting for a big event, it seems as though time somehow stands still. Or, on a day, when being a mom is the most trying task, ever- bedtime, just never seems to come. Then, on the other hand, it was 60 YEARS ago, when God blessed this earth, with my mom. My mom is by nature a care giver. Who could ask anything more of a mom. I was so well taken care of, and loved, and nurtured. I almost enjoyed being sick, because she made everything from the chicken noodle soup, crackers and 7-up, to the comfy bed with the TV in my room, too hard not to enjoy. I would have to imagine, that these very characteristics made it very hard to watch my sister and I grow up, and move out, and eventually get married, and be moms to our own kids. How do you just stop taking care of someone? The older my girls get, the more I understand it. I can see Madi, and how she pushes us away, and wants to be seen as so independent. Yet, no one enjoys a kiss and hug, and being a taken care of as she does. I don't claim to have this mother-daughter thing figured out. It's a complex relationship. But I do want to say to my mom, thank you for loving me, and sacrificing so much for me. I am sorry the appreciation never comes in the moment, but rather as I grow up, I get a clearer understanding of all that you did and continue to do. My girls love their Noni so much. They also love to give her a run for her money! We all wish we lived closer to her and my dad, Papa Scott. Aside from taking such great care of her family, my mom also takes care of terminally ill patients, working for hospice. Every family who has my mom as their loved ones care giver, never want anyone else. She takes care of their medical needs, but even more importantly, she does special things, like...polish their nails, brush their hair, give them a massage, anything to help them feel beautiful and special and keep their dignity. I admire that so much. I was so sad to not be a part of her special birthday bash, put on by my sister. It looked like loads of fun, and I missed not seeing all of our family. Love ya mom- Just going to finish with some fun pictures of Noni, and her sisters, kids, and grandkids!!

I HATE MISSING OUT!

I was just getting ready for bed, and thinking that I haven't blogged in a while. But for some reason, blogging without pictures to me is boring, and I haven't had any batteries in my camera for a while. So, anyhow...I was reading my sister, Shannon's blog, and all of the Thanksgiving, and my mom's 60th birthday festivities, and came across this picture of my wonderful family. The thing that made me the most sad of course, is how much I wish I was there. The "holidays" are always kind of a weird time. It doesn't seem to matter how old I get, around this time, I just want to go home. I know the idea at this point is to create our own family memories, and we do. I am sad to have missed my mom's 60th birthday party. It looks as though they had a lot of fun. I was able to do a video call during the party. My sister walked around with the laptop and the camera so I could say hi to everyone who was there and stuff. It was a great turn out. I love ya so much mom, and I am sorry I couldnt be there. As for Christmas, we just have to make due. We put up the tree today. Miah, of course was the biggest helper. Mikelle just wanted to wrap stuff. Once she found the wrapping paper, she just walked around finding things, and asking if she could give it as a gift, and then would wrap it all up. Well, I am off to bed. Good night!

Weekend Review-

First and foremost, let me give you the update on Tempestt. She is definitely doing better. She has been off the ventilator for about 4 days now, after having been on it for about 5 days. It's obvious that she understands everything being said, and she talks a little bit. Mostly just answering yes or no. Her throat and the insides of her mouth are very sore from the ventilator. Therapy will be necessary to regain her strength. Please continue to pray. Without a miracle, the road before her is very long and hard. Originally she was scheduled to have a kidney transplant in about 1 month. Now there is no way her heart is strong enough to go through the surgery. I know there are many people of prayer out there, and I am calling on you to please lift up our niece, Tempestt. Also lift up her parents who have been through more than I can even imagine.
Now on to the more trivial stuff.... Charles team won their first playoff game. They defeated Spring Valley High School 28-20. They will play Gorman this Friday. Gorman is undefeated this season, and is one of the teams expected to win State. Hopefully the boys are ready to play the game of their life.
Our fall season of softball is over for CSN. We finished up this weekend. Our last game of the weekend, was against my old school, UNLV. We had our work cut out for us. We actually took the lead 2-0. Then they tied it up. We scored 2 more runs and went ahead 4-2 into the 5th inning. That is when we started making a few errors, and they began hitting the ball rather hard. We lost like 8-4. Not bad, considering we are a junior college and they are a good Division I program. It's always easier for the lesser team in those situations, cuz we have nothing to lose. The girls played well, and it was fun. I am looking forward to my 8 weeks or so without softball everyday. Well, I still have lessons, and Madi is still playing. Atleast it will be a bit slower thru my favorite Holiday Season!!

Please Pray!

Some of you know that Charles' nieces, Tempest and Tamika were diagnosed about 6 years ago with Lupus. We lost Tamika about 5 months ago due to complications after one of her many surgeries. She was only 20 years old. Fortunately, she loved the Lord with all of her heart, and although it was painful for us to let her go, she finally is healed in heaven. Right now, Tempest, is fighting for her life. Yesterday, she had a surgery to remove fluid that was surrounding her enlarged heart. Sometime after the surgery, she went into cardiac arrest. Now, she is still on the ventilator. Other than opening her eyes, she is non responsive. They don't know yet how much neurological damage was done, during the cardiac arrest. I was so unprepared when I went to the hospital. I had no idea the situation was so critical. I held her hand, and rubbed her hair, while I prayed for her. But I just cried. It's just so hard. I can't even put it into words. I told her I would pray and have others pray, and that we would fight for her. As you read this blog, just believe God with me for a creative miracle.

Anthony Family Sports Update

Charles' team finished 2nd in their conference with only 1 loss. They will start playoffs next weeks. I believe it takes 3 more wins to get them into the State Championship Game. Their win last week was against a school named, Cimmaron Memorial High School. Every team in the district has a rival game, where there is something at stake...maybe a trophy, or something like that. Whoever wins keeps it for the year until they play again. Cimmaron has had the trophy for the last 2 years. We finally won it back on Friday. Charles and the team were all very excited. They tried to pour water on his head at the end of the game, but he was a bit too fast. I will keep everyone posted.
We played a few games this weekend. "We", being the junior college softball team that I coach. It's always fun when we get to play at UNLV's softball facility. It is just so beautiful. We played 3 games. We only won, one game. However, we competed quite well in all 3. This is just our fall season, so they are more like scrimmages. We let everyone play, so that we can see what they all have to offer. Next weekend is our final weekend, for Fall ball. We play 3 games again. Our final game on Saturday will be against UNLV. They are pretty talented. I think we should be able to compete for a while. Their bats are pretty dangerous.
Madisons softball team played in a tournament here in Las Vegas this weekend. They won 1st place today. She played well and seemed to have fun. Her voice is very horse from all of the cheering. She hit a couple of good singles, as well as 2 real sweet doubles. Her ankle is a bit sore and swollen. She twisted it running bases. But nothing major.
Miah and Mikelle had the weekend off. Both of them have about 2 weeks left in their seasons. Miah has really come into her own this season. She hits with some power, and likes playing 3rd base. Mikelle just loves everything about playing. She runs all over the field. She has had a few home runs herself, even sliding at home. Its cute, I have to admit.