Our Christmas 2014

On December 27, 2014 By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life16 Comments

Well, it happened and it happened fiercely.

Christmas 2014.

I will remember it as the Christmas I almost didn’t get the tree up.

The Christmas I almost didn’t get the presents wrapped.

The Christmas I thought would be a bit skimpy, but lo and behold, it turned out as plump and magical as always.

We did our traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service with IHOP for dinner after.

As beautiful as it was, I think we should have just stopped there. IHOP ended up being packed. The girls were in absolute distress to be late back to their mom’s.

It was actually our year for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but we had traded it to their Mom and just borrowed them Christmas Eve. I thought this might be Bridget’s last “Santa” year and I wanted their Mom to have it. In the end, as happy as I was to have my family together on Christmas Eve, it was just too tense and I felt really bad about the late thing, even though it wasn’t exactly our fault. It still was and…it wasn’t fun. Not for anyone. I did enjoy Averey’s great-grandparents who joined us at IHOP. I do hope that becomes a new tradition.

When Christmas afternoon came, we received the gift of two stress-free happy girls ready for a wonderful Christmas Day.

I didn’t mind at all waiting until Christmas Day to open presents. It was nice to have a relaxed time of opening gifts and having some time to enjoy them.

Of course, we dressed the dogs up. Of course, we did.

Bridget’s first gift was the new Kindle we got to replace the one the thieves stole a few months ago. The tag said: To Bridget From: Someone who is sorry.

I doubt they are sorry at all, but it was a nice thought. Maybe, if they knew they took an eight-year-old’s Kindle they would feel sorry. Maybe? Nah.

Molly got a cool cat shirt. And many, many other things.

And then, the big gift they had to open last. The iPod Touch we trekked out on Black Friday to retrieve at a decent price. Oh yes, we did!

It was worth it.

The smiles. The enchantment. The surprise. Every second of blood, sweat, and tears worth it.

Okay, maybe there wasn’t any blood or tears, but I sweated to get those presents all wrapped. Phew!

The grand baby was more fun, too. Oh, she doesn’t “get” it. But it is still fun to watch her surprise. Next year, I have no doubt, she will most certainly “get” it.

One of the gifts was a set of Speed Bumper cars. Those were a big hit and just as I predicted, the big kids (including Jason) liked them just as much as the girls.

© Angelia's Photography 2014
There was another surprise for me. Jason and I had promised not to exchange gifts, but out of the tree, he pulled a little box. Inside the little box, a beautiful set of diamond earrings. Earrings I have wanted a long time. I was surprised, thrilled, and humbled. What an enormously sweet gesture.

So, Christmas 2014 was an amazing day!

And now, the fun really begins….

Her First Mother’s Day

On May 14, 2014 By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life14 Comments

I remember my first Mother’s Day. My daughter had just been born. A soft and tiny miracle. I inhaled her fresh baby scent and enjoyed being a Mom for the first time; a mere two days after she came into our life.

My Mom brought me a little corsage to wear that Sunday. I even kept it, all dried up, with my daughter’s baby keepsake things.

And now, twenty years later, I spend her first Mother’s day with her, her daughter, and my Mom-in-law (who I call Mom too!). As in… she is my Mom, too.

We visited the beautiful Weston Gardens in Bloom in Fort Worth, Texas. We sat among the flowers and listened to harp and violin music play. The notes sounding even more classical in the setting. We sipped on a variety of teas and nibbled on cookies. We even got to pick out a free Mother’s Day plant for being there. A gift to remember…to nurture and take care of. No wonder they gave them to Moms.

I have to say…this place is gorgeous. Every area you go to is like a different room in a different garden. I would love to go back before it gets super hot to explore some more. I really only scratched the surface of this place.

I took some photos of Sydney and Averey. Nothing formal as Sydney worked earlier in the day and she is still wearing her “uniform”.

But I didn’t want to forget her first Mother’s Day with Averey. And my heart soared a bit that she shared her special Mother’s Day with her own Mom, too.

I’d say it is a tradition we haven’t missed yet. Twenty years, if you are counting…

Hope you had a fabulous weekend. I hope you hugged a Mother (or two).

Sneak Peek – Senior 2012

On December 3, 2011December 3, 2011 By AngeliaIn In my heart forever & ever14 Comments

And this Senior happens to be my baby.

© Angelia's Photography — Sydney, Senior 2012

Oh my gah!!

I just want someone to tell me, how eighteen years goes by so fast? How is it possible?

This is it.

Her final year.

We are in the countdown and someone sped up the ticker. I don’t like that person.

In less than six months, she will turn eighteen and graduate.

She will be an adult (gulp!).

I swore I wouldn’t cry. I’m never swearing anything ever again.

I am the mom of Senior in High School.

In a very short time, she will be the same age I was when I packed my car and moved to Texas.

Still can’t believe I did that so young.

I know she is ready (in her own way). I know she is excited for the next part of her life.

Sydney, you have my heart and you sure make a momma proud.

Senior 2012!

The Square Root of Father’s Day

On June 19, 2011 By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life, In the lives of children, Into the Blender we go- Wee!11 Comments

Father’s Day.

I have such a hard time with this one. It’s a mathematical puzzle, I can’t solve or calculate.

On one hand, it’s the day I think of my dad’s more than any other. It’s a day I smile and remember (precious memories)……. and it’s the day I miss them terribly.

It’s the week when I see a picture of a bride dancing with her father at her wedding and it makes me cry inconsolably.

I wish for many moments with them. I wish for them to know my step-daughters. I wish for that last hug, and last good-bye – just one more conversation, one more Christmas, one more birthday, one more Father’s Day.

It’s Father’s Day and mine are in heaven and if yours aren’t, I hope you squeeze them real tight.

And yet………

I have a wonderful husband in my life who is one of the BEST dads in the world. Not only to his two little girls, but to my daughter as well. He married me and got a full-time teenager. What in the world was he thinking?

Out of all the horror stories of marriages with teens, and he didn’t run away. He took on the challenge. For that alone, he should be celebrated as the hero he is. But it’s more than that, he loves her like his own too.

Accepting another person’s child as your own is the hardest thing to do in a blended family. For that I am so grateful…..

It truly makes life a blessing and it makes Father’s Day a whole lot easier for me.

My daughter is very lucky to have you. She is lucky to have her dad in the picture as well. Sydney gets what I had growing up – two WONDERFUL Dads. A gift more precious than gold.

So Jason, I picked some photographs out of the archives. Ones that I think celebrate the loving and caring Dad you are. Ones I hope show how much I love the father you are to these children.

The impact you have on these lives will last a life-time. I hope you know how much you mean to them by just being you and holding tight. I am so proud of you.

As a daughter, I can say, there is nothing more soul-filling than a Father’s love. Thank-you for gifting your love to our daughters.

Dad, step-dad, great husband, and one of the nicest guys I know.

Always a helper and support, you lend a hand to not only your daughters, but to anyone else that needs it.

Your accomplishments are always made sweeter by the joy that is shared by your family.

Despite a bitter divorce, you insisted on having a picture of the girl’s mom in their room at your house.

You are never afraid to be silly.

You uphold your dad duties of caring for your children and have never passed off that responsibility. From dinner, to bath, to bed-time book reading you do it all and cherish every moment.

Not many fathers are as proud as you are of your three beautiful daughters.

Not many step-fathers are such important mentors in their teen daughter’s life.

Not many Dads display such fine artwork on their refrigerator.

You are truly our knight-in-shining armor.

We are so blessed to have you.

Happy Father’s Day with love!

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