My 2009 Graduate

******Warning....Bragging Post....I'm a mom and I can!******

Here's to an awesome day! This morning put a smile on my face.....my daughter graduated 5th grade. I admit that I got a tad bit teary eyed. I reflected on the first day that I took her to that school in Kindergarten....she cried and didn't want me to leave and now she's off to HIGH SCHOOL. I thought back and reflected over the past 6 years there......all I can say is, "My little girl is growing up." I'm sad but I'm also glad that she's become a little lady with brains. She's definitely a smart cookie.....I see myself in her, ONLY BETTER!

She made me a proud mom when she received the "President's Education Award" for Outstanding Academic Excellence..... sent and signed by the one and only, President Obama. WOO HOO! She received a pin to wear with the presidential seal on it. Now for the high school journey.....I'm not looking forward to this.

My life is flying by now......you can thank my kiddos for that!

I love seeing my kids accomplish things....Here are a few quotes that were used in her commencement. Very inspirational to these kids....I wish more adults would use some of these.

Just one small star can set the world alight

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Never, Never, Never, give up -Winston Churchill

Imagination is more important than knowledge -Albert Einstein

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent - Eleanor Roosevelt

The secret to life is not fame and fortune, but to be content within yourself and be kind to others. Yes, it is that simple- if only we would remember - Dr. Moon

And for my favorite quote:

Be the change you wish to see in the world -Gandhi

Meeting My Sister

Kathy and I (above and below)

Jessica, Crystal, Keegan and Taylor

(below)

Crystal and her boyfriend Jake
(below)

Great 2 days spent with my sister , my nephew, and niece. I have to say now that I've met all of the known siblings that I am not disappointed. My kids and I drove to Mobile on Sunday....not a bad drive at all. My sister had to work and she stopped by the hotel when she got off. WOW! Totally good moment! It's a moment that I will remember the rest of my life. I remember meeting my father when I was 12. It plays like a video in my head.......the meetings of my brothers and sister are etched into my memory like that as well.

We went to her home that night after she got off and talked...We got to meet her son who was building a tool shop......Hey, she can build buildings, remodel, paint, lay wood flooring, cook, she's a great mom....Bottom line here: She's amazing! She's also very level headed and smart.

Monday was the best day.....we went to her house for the day. The weather didn't cooperate very well for us....... so after ditching our beach trip, we went bowling, ate lunch and got to meet Crystal.

We then took a tour of Mobile.....she showed me beautiful old homes, and the hospital where I was born. She told me a few stories of my early childhood. I feel like I finally know that I didn't develop from a cabbage and get dropped off by a stork. I know where I am from, who I am, and finally my siblings. These 3 things have been missing my whole life.

Monday night was great....her 2 kids are great kids (Crystals Boyfriend was very impressive too) hoping he'll remain in the family. They took my kids in like they've known them their whole lives. It was a happy moment to see everyone happy. No sisterly squabbles although we did joke about that earlier in the day......we were wondering who would win......My bet is that she would! She's a bit older, 19 yrs and 9 months to the day to be exact.......getting older means you're wiser. So I say she would win....I don't see that being an issue, thank goodness!

We left Mobile around 9:30 and headed back home.....we made it home around 12:15.....we made great time and there was NOOOO traffic......I left feeling complete, happy, and excited all at the same time. I am glad the meeting phase is finished.....now for keeping in contact and spending some time together.

I know that there are a couple of more brothers and sisters out there. I don't think that they will be found or will appear anytime soon. I welcome meeting them one day when it's time. I believe God's timing is the perfect timing for this to happen. I look back and think how my story played out. If it hadn't worked out like it did then I don't think we would have ever met. I don't believe that our father would have shared this information for us to find each other. Heck, I didn't know that anyone existed other than my sister.

Sooo, here's the last chapter that I can write about in *my* book. It's up to God when the story will be finished and I am not going to rush him.

Now for memories, meetings, family get togethers and good times. We all missed weddings and births......With this new chapter, I hope we can all be apart of each others lives through our children and what's left of our lives as brothers and sisters.

Busy Days Ahead

I'm been sick off and on for 6 weeks now. I have this cold that I can't shake....its turned into pneumonia now. Hopefully, the meds will kick in because too much is planned for the days ahead. I'm feeling somewhat better today but I don't sound much better.....the bark is worse than the bite. LOL

I have 3 more days to work then I'm going to be off for a few.....you just don't know how excited I am about that. I have worked some serious hours the last few weeks.

Saturday, my son turns 9.....I just can't believe that he's going to be HALF GROWN. I'm having a hard time watching my kids grow up. Life is flying by which means I am getting OLD.
We've planned on doing something for him....not sure what.

Sunday, I am leaving to go meet my sister and her children. I am anxious about meeting her. I don't remember her....... I know she used to care for me when I was a baby. I'm hoping we can build some fond memories together in the years to come. 2 days to connect and then I must head home.

Wednesday, my daughter graduates 5th grade....I'm nearly depressed over this. Her last year in Elementary school and then she's going to be thrown to the lions. The junior high has grades 6-12 in it..........Totally scary! I get to deal with *older* boys and all the other stuff a teenager gets into. Not looking forward to this new transition. I think it's going to be worse for ME, dear ole' MOM.

School is out Wednesday and I am welcoming that. I'm a night owl and I hate mornings......I look forward to sleeping in when I can.

That is about all I can think of.....going to catch a nap before work tonight.
Hope you have a wonderful day!

***Lots of pics in the days to come***

Part 2

A very happy me....above

Dobber (above)

Doodle (above)

Jessica (my daughter) and Madelyn (Doodles daughter)

Marley (Doodle's daughter) Above

Madelyn (Doodle's daughter) and Taylor (my son)

pictured below.....look at the pic of Taylor and

Dobber at 8-9 years old on the bicycle....almost

identical.

Dobber at 8-9 yrs old (above)

I must say that I am amazed at the similarities that we share.....especially Dobber and I. We also have the same arms and hands which kind of freaked me out. I mean not close in comparison but THE SAME. His arms are just a little more hairy than mine. ROFL
Dobber and I also have some of the same weird habits, we're both gum chewers. I think we both had gum in our mouths the whole visit. We also have nervous habits...almost identical habits in each of us. We're paper rollers at restaurants....if you don't know what that is then consider yourself calm. LOL We talk with our hands and we both look around a lot.

Doodle and I are alike in our tempers and peeves. We're both tight wads and picky. We like schedules. Dobber is spontaneous which is totally opposite from Doodle and I. I think we all have the same brains. All 4 of us are quite smart. The 3 are smarter than I am but I don't consider myself stupid.

It will probably surprise them since they saw the quite side of me BUT I am a talker. I love to talk for hours. Doodle is extroverted and Dobber and I are a bit more reserved. I am probably more reserved than Dobber.....well, that is until we get to know each other very well.

Dobber had a picture of him riding a bike when he was around 8-9......the picture is identical to my sons picture.....another thing that really freaked me out. You can see for yourself in the pictures.

I have to compare stories and personalities with Kathy.....I am welcoming that!

Enjoy the pics....I know I cherish them! I wish our father wanted the chance to know each of us kids.....I don't think he knew just how awesome all of his kids and grandkids are.

My Short Life....My Long Story

My life began very complicated. I have always wondered who I am and why my life wasn't exactly *normal*....whatever normal means. I guess that explains why I am very particular about the way things are done....I don't like mistakes and I believe in accepting responsibilty for all of your actions.

On April 16, 2009 my life changed for what I now hope is FOREVER.....I knew the lovely brick wall that I've built for 32 years had to be removed. I was ready for a remodeling job, it's more like a demolotion ........I was ready to face my fears, find the truth and more than ever know WHO I AM? I planned on going to meet my biological dad and hope for some answers. At 11 pm.....I googled his name and to my surprise learned he had just passed away in March. My heart immediately sank ....all feelings of hope, answers, and anything else that I wanted were instantly gone. I reluctantly clicked on the link to the obit, not expecting to see anything that I didn't already know.

To my surprise there were 2 boys listed as children. My name wasn't listed but I didn't expect it to be. I had never heard of these boys. The whole night I researched these 2 names....I always knew that I had an older sister and I started looking very hard for her too. It seemed I could find nothing on any of them except 1.

I asked myself 100 questions...well, really more like 10,000.

Do they know about me?

Did our father raise them?

How old are they?

What do they look like?

Are we alike personality wise?

Do we like the same things?

Are they married? Children?

The list went on and on.....the final question I had to ask myself was, "Should I call them?"....."What do I say?"......"What if they don't believe me?"....."What if they don't want to know me?" Anyway, you get the picture.

Friday afternoon I made the call to the only sibling out of 3 that I could find a phone number for.

A very nice lady answered the phone....I was expecting the worst scenerio but she was gracious to answer my questions and give the message to her husband who would be my brother.

Friday night....a few hours later, my life changed. I spoke to a BROTHER. His name is Gerald aka Doodle. I was happy, giddy, and relieved to know after our conversation that I wasn't alone. He has a brother named Bruce aka Dobber. Over the past 3 weeks, I've got to know Doodle and Dobber over emails and phone calls. I was able to get contact info on my sister, Kathy. April 16-17 was one of the best days of my life.....full of ANSWERS! I had been wondering the answers for the past 32 years....The quest was over. In those 24 hours I made contact with 2 brothers and 1 sister....had very nice conversations on the phone, exchanged pics, and began the *getting to know you* process. We all have some of the same characteristics. ....none of us are alike but we're all very close in comparison.

Over the past 3 weeks, we finally settled on a date to meet. My brothers were taking vacations to the mountains and had to come into T-town to get there. They came a day early so we could meet and spend some time together. I haven't been able to meet my sister Kathy yet but I will make sure that happens soon.

May 6,2009 has marked a new era of my life.....the puzzle is *almost* complete. I say almost because I have to meet Kathy and there are some indications that there may be a couple of more siblings. I don't know if they want to be found but it's worth a try. I think we all deserve to know our siblings during our life. It's intresting to see what genes and traits were passed down and see our similarities.

The broken puzzle which took 32 years to put together is nearly complete.

Here are pics of my newfound family. I will never loose contact with my brothers or my sister, NEVER AGAIN! I will never forget May 6-7, 2009. It's etched into my mind like giving birth to my children. I have to meet my sister for the puzzle to be complete.

All in all...I have 2 brothers....ages 46 and 44.

1 sister ......age 52

1 sister in law...I think she's 35

2 nephews.....16 yrs and 21 yrs old

3 nieces.....18 yrs old, 6 yrs old, and 3 yrs, old

Here are pics from yesterday.....whew! I was nervous and pretty quite...I just sat back to take it all in....very overwhelming in the emotions department.

It was all great....a wonderful 18 hours well spent. As I drove home this morning tears poured from my eyes. It was tears of joy...Life is good.....God is good..... I couldn't help but to thank God for making the puzzle fit together. I hope that they were as impressed with me as I was them.

Hopefully more fun times ahead! Now for building some memories together and meeting my sister. The rest will take care of itself.

Thanks for reading my story...my life....my memories!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for tomorrow. I can't wait to tell you on Thursday what the big life changing event is. I can tell you that it is something that I have dreamed and prayed about for a long time.
I am nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. LOL
Anywho, Check back Thursday for PICS GALORE and a fantastic story!

Have a WONDERFUL day!