Goodbye 2012... Hello 2013!

2012 was a good year, well for the most part... as for most years, 2012 had its good times and its bad, but mostly good times.

Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the year... Hopefully I will be able to find pictures to add to this post!

In January we said "goodbye for now" to my Grandma Austin. She fought a good fight with the cancer that had stricken her body and was able to leave this world with grace and dignity. I know it may seem odd, but my family and I were relieved when she passed for Grandma was no longer suffering and in pain. When she passed, she was surrounded by her family that loved her dearly. She was able to see each of her great grandkids before she passed.

Me with Grandma Austin in August 2011 when we were home for our Tulsa Wedding Reception.

February brought my 32nd birthday and an unexpected snow day! We received 28" of snow overnight!!! How exciting is that! The snow was sooo beautiful! I wish we had been in the mountains to really enjoy the snow, but alas, we made the best of it in the city.

Buddy on our back deck unsure of what to do! The snow was higher than the poor lil' guy is tall! We had to shovel a path off of the deck and into the yard for the lil' guy in order for him to attempt to go out to do his business!

My birthday weekend was very eventful... on Valentine's Day just before I left to pick up our romantic dinner for two from Pizza Hut, our DVR decided to go on the fritz... cue an hour on the phone with the Customer Support people from DirecTv... So we had to wait for a new box to arrive... the next day, on my birthday, our remote went out and the other remote wouldn't work upstairs either... so another hour or so logged with Customer Support... the next day I found myself in a car accident as I was getting onto I-76 from Federal. A car, two cars ahead of me, decided to yield (about a block past the yield sign) and the car in front of me and I both slammed on our brakes. I barely tapped the car in front of me, big sigh of relief... then as I started to pull foward to get onto the shoulder of the on-ramp I glance in my rearview mirror to see an older minivan accelerating towards my stopped car... I am lucky and I have an amazing husband who spoiled me rotten that day!

I know it doesn't look like much... but... they had to replace my trunk cover, my bumper, the rear quarter panel on both sides, the cover thingy under my car and repaint the rear portion of my car... apparently my trunk was twisted and it almost needed to be replaced too!

March seemed to be anti-climatic after February. I'm going to have to look in my calendar to see what we did! Nothing is standing out to me as being good, bad or otherwise! We spent time with the Colorado Cousins and each other! One of the biggest UPS of 2012 was when my good friend Ed came home from Afghanistan after being gone for almost a year! He was stuck in Kentucky for rehab from an injury, but alas, he was HOME!!!

April Showers bring May flowers... or so they say... one of my close friends was married in April and the following weekend Ian's cousin was married. We were unable to attend either wedding as they were both  destination weddings (one in LA, the other in Vegas) but we still sent our love to the newlyweds!

May found Ian finishing off his first semester of school!!! Yes! He went back to school part time!!! He LOVED his classes that he took and enjoyed learning new things! I found myself packing my classroom and moving all my stuff home. Change was in the air and I was looking forward to the change in work locations!

I started working for a pediatric home health company in June and found myself providing services for 6 kids after Summer School ended. The kids were a blessing in my life and I found myself remembering just WHY I got into this profession, and no, it wasn't because of the paperwork and politics in the schools... Also in June brought the arrival of our previous nephew, Henry Thomas! He is adorable beyond words and a joy to the family!

July... wow! It was a busy month! We spent the end of June in Aspen with the Keelty-Smith family celebrating the (long awaited) nuptials of Sheridan and Lo... it was great to see a majority of the family and see Sheridan and Lo tie the knot! We spent a great weekend in Aspen! Wedding and reception, night on the town with cousins, Aspen Summer Music Festival and some alone time... We spent Fourth of July with the cousins having a great BBQ. Then it was our 1st anniversary. We managed to get "THE ROOM" at our favorite hotel in Breckenridge. This was "THE ROOM" that Ian had been trying to get since the summer of 2009!

After our anniversary get-away, we had a week of working on Ian's first official "Black Dog Property Services" project before my parents came to visit us! We went to Silverthorne and subsequently to Steamboat with my parents. Mom sucked up her fear of heights and rode the gondola with us in Breckenridge too!!!

And finally, Jason came to visit at the end of the month! This brought a trip to Colorado Springs and a drive up Pike's Peak (and yes, you can drive a 2.0 ltr 4 cylinder Honda Civic coupe to the top of Pike's Peak)!!

Just before going back to work, we went home to see the newest addition to the Stiller-Titchener family... I took Jason to the airport Monday night so that we could leave early Tuesday morning for Tulsa ourselves!!!

School started for me immediately upon returning to Colorado and business took off for Ian. Life took a turn for the busy and not much time for anything else! We said our final goodbyes to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and welcomed the new Ford F-150 into our family. We did manage to find time to run off to Breckenridge for the Annual Ducky Derby (which we were late for because of the uber slow salesman at the dealership)... Unexpectantly, we got word that Uncle R.J. passed away from a heart attack around mid-month. He had been battling lung cancer and was showing signs of beating the cancer when he had the heart attack. Uncle R.J. was an amazing man, husband, father and grandpa and he is definitely going to be missed by all that loved and knew him.

The fall brought about new friendships and fun times. I introduced Ian to my old friends from Texas who had just moved to Colorado. We went out to Conifer to hang out with Jonathan one fall day while Amanda was out of town... I lost my digital camera, which Jonathan was convinced the deer had stolen... my shot improved dramatically since the last time I shot my bow!

The rest of the fall season seems like a blur of testing students, writing reports, meetings, Sewing club at my old middle school, private speech sessions for my 3 students and doing more paperwork! We found out that grocery shopping on Halloween is a good time to be out, very little traffic at the grocery store AND avoiding the kids going up and down the street trick-or-treating!!! Halloween also brought sad news to me and the rest of the BTW c/o 98. We found out that one of our classmates (and good friend) had passed away very unexpectantly leaving behind his wife (one of my close friends since elementary school) and a loving family.

 We celebrated Thanksgiving with Jonathan and Amanda at their house in Conifer. It was fun and I hope we do this again next year!

 Jonathan and Amanda- my friends from Ft. Worth! Crazy to think we met my first year teaching and now we are teaching together again in Jeffco!

The end of November brought sadness to my life as I found out that a very special woman in my life had gone on to an eternal party in heaven. She will always be remembered as being an angel to so many people whose lives she influenced and improved. May she rest in eternal peace and celebration with my grandma and others that we have loved and lost in the years past.

To end the year, Ian and I loaded up the new truck and headed back to Tulsa for a week with the family. We had a good time with the extended Keelty family on Christmas Eve, then the Stiller's on Christmas morning before joining my family for the afternoon. Our gifts from the heart were a big hit with the families and everyone had a great time! McKenzie turned 12 while we were home and we were able to go to both of her parties AND have her and Syrina spend the night with us at the hotel!

New Years Eve found the two of us at home hanging out together having a low-key kinda night. Christmas pictures will be posted in another post since this one is getting to be long...

Summer Fun

This summer was a busy one! Summer school for both me and Ian... our nephew was born in Tulsa... had a weekend get-away to celebrate with Ian's cousin as she pledged her love to her husband...  started providing pediatric home speech therapy... Ian started his new business... we went to Breckenridge for a few days to celebrate our first anniversary... my parents came to visit... my Tulsa best friend came for a visit... we went to Tulsa for a quick trip to meet the nephew... then started school...

Here are a few pictures from the summer. Started with Ian's birthday dinner the end of June and ending with our Tulsa trip.

Left to Right - Christina, me, Ian and Ryan - we love spending times with Christina and Ryan! Ian's birthday dinner at Katie Mullin's downtown Denver.

 Rehearsal Dinner- Patrick, Allan, Caroline with Ethan, Stephanie, Chris and Nicole.

Post rehearsal dinner- I had to get a photo of the two of us!

Wedding day at the Maroon Bells!

Keelty Cousins - Lauran, Meredith, Chris (Nicole in front), Zach (Stephanie in front), Berkeley, Patrick, Sheridan and Lo (in front with Oliver center), Ian (me in front), Allan with Ethan and Caroline beside, Ryan and Christina (sitting), Molly, Liam and Aiden.

 Aspen Summer Music Festival.

Our wedding rings... never took a photo like this on our wedding day...

 Our anniversary get-away- the lake on Loveland Pass.

Happy 1st anniversary to us!!! From the balcony of "THE ROOM" at the Lodge!

 My rebel... Once a rebel, always a rebel! I love my crazy husband!

Pike's Peak summit...

The precious little footsies of Henry!


And this ends the Summer FUN!

Time to Reflect and be thankful

It's Thanksgiving Day, a day to reflect on all the things we are thankful for in our lives. This year has been an amazing year full of blessings!

Today I am thankful for my family. Without them I wouldn't be here today. My family is beyond amazing and is the best sounding board and support system that a person could ever need. My family extends beyond my parents and "blood relatives," my family includes so many more. There are people in my life that have chosen to include me in their lives and their families. These people are my friends and my chosen family. This week I got the chance to spend time with my "cousin" and her kids, my "little brother" and "niece," along with my other "little brother". These people are as much of my family as my parents, nieces and blood relatives.

I am thankful for my safety and my freedom. My friends and family that are in and have been in the armed forces who have fought for our freedoms here at home. I just received word today that one of my best friends that is deployed in Afghanistan has returned to his COP with his unit safely and with his unit intact.

I'm thankful for my new husband. He is my support and my best friend, I couldn't ask for more. Well a steady job but hey, a job is a job in this economy! My husband takes care of our dogs day in and out, cleans te house and cooks for me most days. I've been home in Ok for the last week and while I was away he managed to knock quite a few of my honey-do's off the list to surprise me! I was so thankful to come home to a clean house that was still standing and to did all of my pictures hanging on the walls and other artwork on the walls! I could even see the floor in the basement!

There are so many things to be thankful for, these are merely a few!

Saying Good-bye is hard to do...

This month, I have had 3 friends have to say "good-bye" to very important people in their lives. Well I take that back, it is more than 3 friends, so I should say 3 families...

January started with a Hallelujah Moment for Gran I. The Reynolds/Blakemore families celebrated the rich and long life of Ida Pondarae Reynolds on January 3, 2011. Gran I was 99 years and 4 months old. She was an amazing woman and I feel blessed to have met her and to have had her in my life as a role model for 26 years. Her legacy will live on in her wonderful grandkids, great grandkids and GREAT GREAT grandkids who also had the joy of knowing her.

A week later, my friend from TU, Whitney Baab Bennett, along with her family said "good-bye for now" at a life celebration for her father. Whit's dad had battled cancer for a little over 2 years. That road was a long and arduous road for the entire Baab family. About the time that they thought that Bud was in remission another scan would state the opposite. Throughout the entire ordeal, the Baab family stood firm in their faith and knew that their father/husband/grandpa was in the hands of God.

This week, I saw on facebook that another of my close friends, Crystal Smith Lattimore, had lost her father. Having grown up at the Smith house throughout my childhood, I knew the pain that Crystal was feeling. Crystal and I were always super emotional and super close to our families. Like the Baab family dealing with cancer for 2 years, the Smith family has dealt with heart problems for the last 15 years or so. Through all the hospital visits and stays, Crystal and her wonderful mom, Lavetta, always stayed firm on their faith that Lonnie too would be taken care of by his Lord and Savior.

Although I haven't lost one of my parents, I think I have an idea how my friends are feeling right now. LOST... maybe not right now because they are unreeling from the adrenaline filled roller coaster of ups and downs and exhaustion from the last months of hospital stays, they will feel lost and alone sooner than later... I am impressed by the displays of faith that all the families mentioned above have shown through these times of trial.

I have had my faith renewed by the love and devotion shown by the families of the ones lost this month. I pray that they will continue to feel the calming presence of their loved ones when they hit bottom and start to grieve for their dad and grandma. I ask that my friends continue to pray for these families (Reynolds/Blakemore, Baab and Smith) for strength and comfort in the days and weeks to come.

November... what a month...

What a month this has been... I officially moved out of my apartment on Nov. 1/2 with the intentions of moving into my grandma's house... which didn't happen. As of 8:oo pm on Nov. 18, most of my stuff is in boxes stacked up in my grandma's living room and the rest is stacked up in storage in Skiatook. I have most of my clothes over at a friend's house where I can crash when I can't crash with Ethan. And I am house-bouncing. It has been interesting to say the least!!!

Other activities going on in my life this month. Ethan WANTED to go to the Caravan to dance the other night, and was actually very disappointed when I turned him down because I was so tired from having an extended bout with a sinus infection for the last 8 weeks. So what does he do??? He tells me he wants to go to the TU/ORU basketball game on campus. Once again I tell him that I am tired and would love to go but I need my rest... he buys tickets anyway and we go to the game... the first TU/ORU game since I was a student!! I enjoyed the game and I had to laugh at the serious to almost mean looks that Coaches Scott and Tom have on their faces while coaching!!! To think that these two mean are the kindest and most loving dads on the planet!! But they look so MAD on the court! (I mean that in the nicest way possible)

Happy Halloween!!!

This year I actually got to go over to Grandma Ida's house to see all of the cousins in their adorable costumes!!! The last time I did this, I am afraid to say, Ana was probably only 4 years old????

We had a crazy time at the house as usual!!! It never ceases to amaze me how we can all fit inside Gran I's house at one time and not be crawling on top of each other! But I guess it goes to show that just like your heart grows to love each and every child in your life, your house will grow as well to accommodate them!!! Ethan agreed to come over and meet the rest of my "family" since hadn't met anyone other than Tom, Ronda, Blake and Ana. I honestly don't think that he knew what he was getting himself into when he agreed to come over!!!

The Hankins-Sutton clan on great Gran's swing!!!! This is an annual tradition to take a picture on the swing on Halloween for Uncle (well I call him Uncle at least, they call him Papa) Jim.

Even Uncle Jim got into the spirit of the holiday and had Kimbo paint his hair orange too!!!!

Cousins Luke and Lauren looking so sweet and cute! Luke was Indiana Jones (so fitting for him!) and Lauren was a fairy pumpkin (very fitting for her!!!)

Lauren by herself...

Luke by himself... with Lauren dancing in the background...

After we left Gran I's house we met up with my nieces!!! Syrina decided to NOT dress up this year, apparently at 14 she feels like she is "too old" to dress up...

Kenzie Ann as a cute witch...

Me as a black cat with pink stripes in my hair and the "teenager" so cleverly dressed up...

Me and the girls... gotta love the look on Kenzie's face!!!!

She is looking MUCH happier now!!!

Who ME????

We had the cutest trick-or-treater ever come over, but she wasn't big enough to enjoy the candy so we just held her instead... Olivia was a cute pumpkin, her mommy Whitney was a jack-o-lantern and her daddy was a pumpkin patch!!!!

Here is the Serio family.. See the adorable lil' pumpkin that came to Trick-Or-Treat with us???

Adventures of Gilligan's Island

Growing up, I can remember the intrigue and mystery of the boat that was floating off of Hwy 169 in Tulsa... what was that boat doing there off of the highway??? How did it get there???? Why would someone want a boat in the middle of a golf course??? Well, for me, the mystery was solved the first time that I went to All Star Sports Complex to play miniature golf with some of my friends... now it is my turn to be the one to help solve the mystery of the boat to my nieces. Only difference is that in 2007 you can't walk through the boat anymore because it is sinking slowly into the pond in the middle of the course like you could, say back in 1992...




Kenzie and Syrina had a blast playing mini-golf, even if Kenz didn't quite get the right idea as to how to hold the putter... or if my mom never realized that she didn't need to hit the ball hard enough to send it soaring down the freeway into the greens like at the PGA... Kenzie actually had a hole in ONE and Papa had two hole in ONEs!!! Uncle Davie had to come out to help Kenzie near the end of the course when the obstacles were more difficult, but he didn't mind being rudely woken (awaken??) by Kenzie screaming in his voicemail!!!!



All in all, a good time was had by everyone! The girls still don't quite understand how when I was their ages we could walk through the boat and even golf on it... or how the boat even played a part of the course, but they still liked the boat!!!

Birthday Fun

For Ana's 7th birthday we went to Bounce U for a Bouncing good time!!! Here are some pictures of Ana and her cousins in the Spiderweb trampoline thingy...

Here is Hallie Marie poking her head through one layer of the web... yes I was in the web with the girls...



Here is Luke looking down at me daring me to try to catch him.



Here Ellie and I are on the top layer of the web... success was ours!!!



Cousins are the best!



Even with a broken arm Ana managed to have a good time!! Here Ana was stuck in the web!!!
Below this is Ana poking her head through my level of the web!




Cousins are great... they will stick by you through thick or thin!!!! Kami is one of the bestest big sisters ever! I think she learned from the best on how to be a big sister... just look at her mom and her Aunt Kiki! All the kids are great siblings... Kami to Ellie and Luke, Ellie to Luke and Kami, Hallie to Lauren and Maggie, Lauren to Maggie and Hallie... and great to each other!!!



Ana, Hallie and Ellie... the almost triplets... October, January, and September babies!!!



Luke and Lauren... almost twins... born 6 weeks apart!!!!



I am glad that I got to experience the joys of seeing all of my kids grow and play at the party! It has been too long since I had seen Kami, Ellie, and Luke... let alone all together!!!! Fun was had by all, including the adults... Aunt Knit, Kimbo (AKA Aunt Kiki) and I joined in the fun with the kids on the obstacle courses... there are pictures of all of us... just don't have them!!!