I'm Thankful

I am thankful for a wonderful husband who is kind, generous and always there for me.
I am thankful for my Christmas miracle - Benjamin.
I am thankful for my parents, my in-laws, my sisters and brother, my out-laws, my nieces and nephews.
I am thankful for Beth who is there in all kinds of weather.
I am thankful for a roof over my head and food on my table.
I am thankful to still have my Memere.
I am thankful that I knew my Gramps and Grandma and Pepere.
I am thankful that I have faith that God loves me and all those around me.
I am thankful to have friends in my life who know me, really know me.
I am thankful for bubblebaths, red wine and a good book.
I am thankful for everyone who reads this silly little blog.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday.
Joan

Amazing!

Okay, so I rarely go to concerts. I think that I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to one...but last night I had such a great time. A group of us women all around the same age, crammed into a small car and drove down to Mohegan Sun. We got there in record time thanks to Johnna's driving ;) We were all very excited to go see Elton John. Alicia had gotten tickets and they were for behind the stage. We figured it didn't really matter, but they were AWESOME. We could see EVERYTHING.

Sir Elton played for three hours straight! How does that man do it? Some of the group didn't enjoy how some of the songs had long piano introductions, but I LOVE that. He'd finish one song take a quick bow and thank the crowd and go right into another song. His band is also fantastic. I loved watching the percussionist with all his gadgets. Really cool.

Throughout the concert I paid attention to the lighting and thought of my nephew Jeff. He would have really been impressed.

Got home by 1:30 am and was up at 8:15 today to go get a haircut. I'm tired, but it was so worth it! Totally going to take a nap today!

I'm supposed to be helping with the Children's Christmas Pageant Rehearsal today, but after about 1 hour Ben looked flushed and had a slight fever so I brought him home. I know he's sick because when I mentioned he needed a nap he said "OK Mom". You know that means he's not feeling well. So he's eating soup right now and then will go down for a nap.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday!
Joan

Sorry I've been away...

Okay to the three, maybe four of you, who read this I apologize for not being as up-to-date as in the past. Boy is time flying by. I can't believe that it is already November, nevermind the 1th. This month is expected to be very busy. We've just had the baby shower for my sister Sheila. It was great to see everyone. Lots of babies there. I stayed away from them because I was not feeling great and didn't want to pass germs off. This weekend will be a whirlwind one...

Friday...Elton John
Saturday...9 - Haircut YEAH, 10 - Christmas Pagent rehearsal 11 - Help clean the church, 1 - the car goes in for an oil change and inspection
Sunday ... Church, breakfast birthday with two dear friends, 11 take Ben to a friends birthday party.

At some point Phil & I need to figure out what we plan to do for Christmas for Ben. He of course wants LEGOS. He is now able to follow the instruction books and build them on his own. He is just amazing.

Oh, did I tell you that he is having a pajama day. I will not be able to because I made arrangements to meet with my mentor for a couple of hours. I do enjoy spending time with her. She challenges me but is also encouraging.

Well, need to run.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Another Nephew

It is hard to believe that November is here, but today our family was blessed with a nephew. My sister Amy and her husband David had Gregory David today at 5:28 am. Mom and baby are doing fine. I hope to have more information soon. It is also their other son Peter's birthday today so huge celebrations going on at their house.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Imagination

We have always tried to encourage Ben's imagination so tonight was just so much fun. As many of you know, he is currently obsessed with Star Wars, the Clone Wars. Tonight he spent the night teaching me what it takes to be a Jedi Knight. So handstands, somersaults and fancy karate moves were the exercise of the evening. In order to switch characters of the training, Ben would spin around and say the name of the new character. So far tonight he has been Anakin, Obi Wan, R2D2, battle droid, Ahsoka (because he wanted to carry the Rocca, the baby hutt, in his backpack) and spider droid.

It is so hard not to laugh because it brings so much joy to see how he plays and uses his imagination. At the end of all of this fun will be bed times stories of Star Wars.

What fun!

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

My wonderful husband!

Okay, those of you who know me really well know that I tend to be, shall I say, annoyed with the fact the Phil is always doing some project or another. Well, today I am not annoyed, I am thankful. Why you may be asking yourself? Well, mainly because he is almost finished with the new kitchen/hallway floor. This is a HUGE step. The linoleum that we had was old, worn out from years of Murphy love! Now, my floating floor is almost done. He did the hard part...the hallway. Now on to the rest.

Also, I am trying to appreciate all of this since so many of my friends' husbands are not handy. I have also been checking out my sister Mary's blog Mum2Best7.blogspot.com almost every day. During the month of October she is doing a retreat for our husbands. It keeps life in perspective for me.

So, Phil, I love you and thank you for all you do!

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Family connections...

I'm sitting here at my computer checking my Yahoo account for updates on my Family Group page and then checking my Facebook account to find out more about my family. It is so interesting to see what people write in both locations. Facebook is definitely more relaxed but only quick updates. My family group page goes in spurts, but I love that we can do mass email posts to each other. This comes in very handy with a family as large as mine. Also, I can't really picture my Mom on Facebook, although two of my aunts are. Go figure!

I've been able to connect with my old roommate in college, Schmitzee (love ya!) and I know one of my oldest friends from Irish Step Dancing checks out my blog on occassion. I've also been able to use the internet, via this blog, to keep in touch with the gang from RBA/Brooks Brothers. Miss you guys! And I can't forget my BFF who I'm sure wishes I'd call more, but our schedules are crazy so the blog helps her know that I am still alive and ticking. Just so you know BFF I think about you every day and can't wait until life settles down a little bit.

I also use the web to connect to an old coworker who now lives in Texas.

So, while I miss writing letters, I am much better at a five minute sign on and doing a blog update.

Well, Happy Fall. It is the best time to be in New England. The colors are beautiful this year and the weather has been perfect. So go and take a walk with your family and enjoy the weather and thier company.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan