1st Grade & 4th Grade, 2015

So big they are getting.  So proud we are of them.   Off to new adventures they go! 

April 2015

I love being a mom!  There is always a blessing in each day, in each hug,  in each snuggle,  in a laugh,  in a tear, in the quiet of the night when they are sound asleep.  My babies are growing up.   Each day I try to do what I can to savor that moment, no matter what it is.   One day I know,  that this will all change, the moments will be different. 

But for today,  I will love them with all my heart,  morning,  noon and night!

A new year!

Lexi!

Merry Christmas

5 5 years, 8 years

Daisy Scout!

Happy Halloween, boo!

Peaceful kids 

A visit from Nani, yeah!

My Bear Scout!

Gabbers!

Easter time!

It is said that when the 3 Kings came to Jesus after he was born, they took a different road home.  You may wonder why, but it is quite obvious.  No one comes to Jesus and returns the way he was! 
This Easter was a rather quiet and family filled day.  We enjoyed a rather tight Mass in the morning as you can imagine and came home to hang out and relax as a Holy Day should be.  Except for us Bellistons, we couldn't keep our hands off the yard.  I think this still brings us to God, through his creation of the world around us.  We are thankful for all our many blessings!  We are thankful for our family and for each other! 

Happy New Year! 2014

Belliston family

Gabbie and Monkey

sharp shooter!

learning how and lovin' it!

Easter sunrise at Red Rocks

Nani!

sleepover, zzzzzzzzz...

Christmas presents

Charlee's Christmas Pageant

Good morning Colorado

2013, just a glimpse at the year, where did it go.  It went to kids turning 4 & turning 7.  It went to summer soccer. It went to glasses for Charlee.  It went to a vacation in Ohio.  It went to Thanksgiving in Idaho.  It went to lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of love & memories of it all to bring us to this new year.  Forward we march, once again.

School has started, 2nd grader & Pre-K kid!

That's exactly how it happens, in the blink of an eye.  We just returned from a trip to Ohio and it all seems like a dream.  I sometimes wonder how that happens, is it really real?  Just yesterday I was playing summer sports and climbing trees, then I'm a college kid, then I'm on a road trip to Colorado, then I'm married and have 2 beautiful kids.  I can honestly say I've done a lot and seen a lot in my life of 38 years, life-death-happiness-sadness-joys-pains, but I've never been alone in my little world, I'm always surrounded by love and strength from family and friends.  I just wonder where we will all be in the next blink.

Charlee is now in Pre-K, God Bless her teachers!  This smart little girl comes home happy about homework, happy for now anyhow, ha ha.  We'll take it while we can get it.  Just a few months ago we she failed her eye exam and from there we found she has one very bad eye.  She is wearing glasses, and doing a great job of keeping them on, not much fighting with her on that matter.  We've had one follow up eye exam and it seems that things are improving.  They think there is a chance it will correct her vision since we've caught this early. We'll have another exam in about a month.  Keep your fingers crosses.  In the mean time, she is so cute with her little pink & purple glasses! We love watching her grow and learn and play, Baran is her idol these days and she often tries to do everything he does.  She's learned to swing on her own, and jump off from real high. She follows him around on his scooter, climbs up the front tree after him, it's great.  They build lots of forts all over my house and recently started putting on shows for us, love it!

Baran is now my 2nd grader.  He has stated that he really likes second grade and his teacher.  I don't think I ever got that response in first grade.   He played another summer of soccer and actually started to get the hang of it, we saw some fight in him which of course made me happy happy.  We didn't do the fall season of soccer because our plan is to get the kids in to swimming lessons throughout the winter.  Baran wanted a break.  Of course I've been trying to get him to play catch in the backyard with me, I'll keep trying.  I did get a whiffle ball bat the other day, he grabbed it right up and started batting away.  He would just toss it to himself and hit it almost every time.  We decided to try to pitch it to him and he was unstoppable - he might have some of his Momma's genes in him after all!!  However, his favorite thing is video games, of course.  We constantly hear, "Can I play on your phone? Can I play the X-Box? Can I play on the computer?  Would you just buy me a phone so I don't have to bug you?"  At 7 years old, he's really good too.  The battle of video games and outside activities is constant.  Luckily he's become good at scooter riding with his neighbor buddy Diego, they have a lot of fun riding, playing, and hanging out - they are both very silly kids.

Bryan keeps plugging away, his job is good with the normal ups and downs.  He is still working with the basement company but recently has been getting a lot of calls from referral customers.  His work and skill is magnificent.  In another breathe, he is the son of a beekeeper, and has had a lot of angst and confusion. With the company probably falling in to the arms of another family, Bryan has been a ball of stress.  He hasn't worked with the bees for a very long time and knows there are a lot of guys that already do the job with ease.  Dad is growing tired and needs to start making decisions about what to do with the company.  Is Bryan the next in line to take over?  He and his Dad have talked for hours about it.  At this point, it looks like the company will be sold to another family.  I guess we will just work on living one day at a time.  I kinda liked the thought of moving closer to family.  I didn't like the thought of packing of this house.

Speaking of houses, we have a patio!!!  We buckled down and spent the bucks and have been living on the back patio almost all summer.  It took 10 years but we finally got it done, we got concrete!  We also bought a smoker and have enjoyed the feasts and dinners outside - it has been great!

As for me, I'm the property manager and real estate agent of Blue Sage Realty for 6 years now in December.  Life with Blue Sage started shortly after Everett died.  The company has done a lot in the 6 years I've been here and we've grown together as a team.

As for Everett, I still miss him, I still cry for my baby.  I see Baran and Charlee and wonder what could have/would have been.  Perhaps we would not have met our Charlee-warley, perhaps we would have 3 rug rats running around playing and fighting.  I can't wait to see his face again one day.  I visit his grave and send up happy thoughts, Momma loves him and misses him.  I pretty sure Grandpa John, Uncie and Everett are hanging out watching over all of us - that gives me peace.