Birthdays, Real Estate & More...

My precious baby Tierney turned ONE last Thursday, October 8. I can totally remember when she was born, and although the calendar says it was one year ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. But, I guess that's a common memory for moms, huh?! In fact, the night before her birthday, we were running errands and we drove by the hospital she was born at and I remembered checking into the hospital at about the same time we drove by to start the induction process. A wave of emotions flooded me as we past the hospital and I felt those same nervous, anxious and excited emotions all over again. I even remember the pain I was in. I had an epidural, but it really didn't take that well, so I felt most everything. That and the doctor's had to increase the strength of my contractions and up my dosage of pitocin. Suffice it to say, I was in more pain than I had ever been in and could ever imagine. And, how I could barely keep my eyes open during those last few hours of hard labor because every contraction I squinted my eyes so hard, giving myself a headache and making it hard to see out of blurry contacts. But, the minute (3:54 p.m.) she was born, all the pain, the blurry eyes and headache completely disappeared. When the doctor laid my second born daughter on my chest, my world got flipped upside down and I immediately fell in love with this precious child God gave me. My little girl, named Tierney. Over the past year, my heart has only expanded that much more with love for this precious girl. She's very loving, very sweet, has a bubbly personality and a fiery way about her and she's as stubborn as it gets. But, I wouldn't change anything about her or one second of my life with her for anything. This time around, I got to witness first-hand every little milestone, every smile, every cry, every cuddle, every look, everything, because I have the wonderful opportunity of staying home with my girls and I LOVE it so much! This year she's walking all around the house and trying really hard to put those words together she's been learning, and I know that this year will fly by and by next year, I'll be wondering where the year went. I wish time could just stand still. But, it can't. So, here's to another amazing year for my Tierney. Happy Birthday sweet baby girl! Mommy loves you more than you can ever imagine!

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My husband turns the big 3-0 this Thursday, October 15. That's right, this is his birthday week. He has only 3 more days of being a 20-something. He's not too big on birthdays, especially his own, and it's not because he is nervous, anxious, etc. about getting older. But, this year, he's getting more in the birthday spirit I think. We're going to spend his birthday night at a hotel thanks to an interview he did on a brand new hotel in the town where he works and the manager offered a free night's stay at the hotel in one of their suites! You don't have to twist our arm that hard. We're there. The girls are excited about staying in a hotel and going swimming in the pool. And, really Kevin loves, loves, loves staying in hotels, so this is a great birthday gift for him! And, even better, he has the next day off too. Wahoo! It's like a birthday present for me too because what's better than spending time with your best friend. I can honestly say that he is quite possibly the one person that very rarely I get frustrated with. As much as I love my girls, there are days when being a parent is very hard and trying, but being a wife, better yet, being Kevin's wife, I never feel that way. He's such an amazing man and I thank the good Lord everyday for bringing us together. I have known Kevin for nearly 20 years, and my life is truly better because he's in it and because I know him, love him and he loves me. I simply can't imagine my life without him, and I'm so excited to be celebrating his 30 years of life with him. Happy Birthday to my dear sweet husband! You're my everything and I will love you always!

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I have begun a new adventure and I'm really excited. Getting more and more excited by the day really! It's official, I'm a real estate broker! Real estate has always been something that I've kept in the back of mind as something that I would love to pursue if the opportunity arose. Well, this July, that opportunity arose. A real estate class was being offered by a Realtor that I knew from my newspaper advertising days and Kevin knew from interviewing him on occasion for different stories for his newspaper. So, at the beginning of July I went back to school for real estate. Six weeks later, the class was complete, I got my certificate saying I passed the class and had to sign up to take the PSI (real estate) exam. The exam has two portions, the national and the state. I registered for the exam, arranged a babysitter and studied my heart out and went and took the test. About three hours later, I clicked submit on the computer submitting my test to be instantly graded. I looked at the computer screen in the testing room and saw the words "failed" twice. Ahh. My heart sank. I cried a bit walking out to my car and called everyone that I had told about my test and received all words of encouragement, but still I felt terrible. I took the weekend "off" from studying and went at it again. I scheduled a retest and after a lot more extensive studying, I took the test on a Saturday while Kevin watched the girls. Again, I clicked submit, and again that terrible word "failed" appeared again, twice. Ahh..not again. How big of a failure am I to fail both portions of the test not once but twice. Come on! This time, my first call was to my instructor to see what words of wisdom, if any, he had for me. We arranged to meet and go over the material on the state portion again which was very helpful. Again, I studied like crazy for both portions of the test. Again, I registered for the retest. This time I drove about an hour as compared to 30 minutes to get to the testing center. And, again I clicked submit on the test and again I saw the word "failed" but this time only once. Hallejuah! I had passed the state test and missed passing the national test by one, ONE, stinkin' point. Oh well! At least the state portion was behind me. I celebrated my success by redoing my girls' bathroom which now has bright pink walls! I was determined not to let the national test get the best of me, and so I registered yet again for another retest. This time, I looked over the materials very briefly. I have sort of a photographic memory and so lots of the questions came back to me and I looked up the answers I wasn't sure of and that's about it for my studying. So, on the day of the test, I dropped my girls off at my mother-in-law's house for her to watch them and traveled the opposite direction of my previous tests and took the national test. After clicking submit on the test, I prayed to God to please let this be the final time, just let me pass. When the results appeared on the screen, I saw the word I so wanted to see "PASS!" Hallejuah! The proctor congratulated me and I flung my arms out and gave her a hug because I was beyond thrilled and needed to hug someone. Finally, I had done it! I called Kevin and his response was "Yes!" So, finally, finally, I am a real estate broker working with Coldwell Banker. I'm working on getting my first client and I am so excited to begin this new adventure. And, still the best perk of all is getting to still stay home with my precious girlies!

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That about wraps this LONG post up. But, there is one person that I haven't mention and who my life wouldn't be complete without and that is Miss Brooklyn Marie. Brooklyn is such a spark, always trying to learn more and more, has the world's best memory, is a great dancer, a wonderful singer, funnier than ever, a wonderful, truly wonderful big sister and just an all around amazing little girl who I'm sad to say will be turning FOUR (ahh .. makes my heart ache) in December. When did this little girl grow up? When we drive by the hospital where she was born, she waves to it and blows it kisses. So sweet! She can't WAIT to start school next year, preschool that is. I've been doing some things with her at home and she's learned her how to recognize all her numbers and letters and has even learned to write a little bit and really wants to learn how to read. She's fascinated at how everything works. I want to just sit on her so she can't grow up anymore! Is that possible? She just amazes me everyday. I am so very thankful that I'm her mommy. I love her to the moon and back and then some.

One month left

Seriously, there's only one month left before my baby girl turns ONE! It doesn't even seem possible. Time has gone by far too quickly. It makes me sad and excited at the same time.

Tierney is such a wonderful addition to our family. She has an amazing personality, so bubbly and bright, so inquistive and so sweet, so gentle and so loving. While she's a true Mama's girl, there's nothing more that excites her than when her Daddy comes in the door after a long day at work. He's greeted with loud squeals, smiles and a "Hi Dada!" The only thing that comes close is the excitement she has when she sees her sister for the first time in the morning or after naps. I can attest that being greeted by this precious little one by a squeal, a smile and a giggle just makes you melt into a puddle right there. She's not much of a sleeper at all and because she hates her crib and being confined, she sleeps on a little kid sized pull-out sofa on the floor of her room. It works, and she's gotten a few full nights of sleep, so we're sticking with it. She crawls everywhere and tackles the stairs like they're nothing. She loves to play and when her big sister pays all the attention to her she just lights up. But, I can say, that as much as her face lights up at the sight of us, our faces and our hearts light up so much because she's a part of our lives and a part of our family. I'm so thankful God choose me to be Tierney's mama (Brooklyn's too!). Nothing in life is sweeter, more challenging or more rewarding.

Here's to one more month of my baby being a baby before she is officially a one year old...

My sweet baby

My baby is growing up, a little too fast for me though. She's now six months old - half a year old. At her doctor's appointment last week, she weighed in at 15 pounds, 10 ounces (25th percentile) and is 26 inces tall (95th percentile). She's quite a good size baby. She's already wearing a few 12 month outifts, which to me is crazy because as I pull those outfits out, I remember Brooklyn getting them at her first birthday party. And, she's already wearing a size two shoe, which once again Brooklyn wore at age one, but Brooklyn does have small feet.Kevin and I have decided that Tierney will be even more mischevious than her sister is or was simply because she watches everything her sister does and we can tell she's taking notes. The other night as Brooklyn was running back and forth from our living room into the kitchen, Tierney who was playing in the living room started screaming and crying as Brooklyn ran past her. When Brooklyn would stop, so would Tierney. She has an amazing grip and go-go-gadget arms that fly in every direction to grab the thing she wants, and she most always gets it. She sits up pretty well, but loves being on her tummy so much, she'd rather do that. And, even though, babies don't typically crawl until they're nine months, she has got the army crawl, scoot across the floor thing down pretty good. On her tummy, she can turn in a complete circle just for fun, or she'll roll across the floor to get what she wants. She isn't quite strong enough to hold up her body and actually crawl, but I have decided that it's okay, because once she's mobile, oh how things will change! She's been eating solid foods for about two months, and I really haven't found anything she doesn't like. She'll eat it all. So very, very different from Brooklyn, my non-sweet eater. The only challenge we have with Tierney is she really isn't interested in sleep, day or night. I think there's too much going on and too much she feels she might miss out on if she sleeps. But, give the girl a nice warm bubble bath and a massage with lotion, and she will sleep a little longer than normal. We have a few other techniques we've been using to help her fall asleep and stay asleep longer. And, while the nighttime awakenings can be very tiresome, she always puts on a pretty smile and cuddles, so it's all okay.

And, since I get to stay home with my girlies, I get to watch how they play, love on and irritate each other on a regular basis and I can say nothing is sweeter. Brooklyn really loves being a big sister, I think now more than when Tierney was first born, simply because Tierney is a bit more mobile and actually able to play a bit instead of just lay there. And, Tierney is the sweet little sister whose eyes light up when she sees her sister walk into the room or when she pays attention to her. They're going to be the best of friends, I can already tell.

I was always worried before Tierney was born that I wouldn't be able to love another child with the intensity and passion that I love Brooklyn with, but I was wrong, I can. Your heart just grows as my mom told me and it's so true. My life wasn't complete without my sweet baby Tierney, just as it wasn't without Brooklyn or Kevin in my life. I feel so very, very blessed for my family and love the chance to get to be a part of my girl's everyday, every moment life.

It's been six years!

It's been six years since I walked down the aisle with my arm interlocked with my dad's on my way to the beginning of a new exciting and challenging journey. I had never been so nervous, but a good nervous, in my entire life. I swear my dad had to hold me up and help me walk the entire way. I kept my eyes locked to the front of the church where my prince charming stood waiting for me. I distinctly remember he had his hand on the front of the pew right in front of his parents and had this incredible smile on his face and our eyes locked the minute we saw each other. After my dad raised my veil and kissed me on the cheek, my prince and I held hands and continued on with our wedding ceremony where we promised to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part. We exchanged our rings and the pastor announced us husband and wife. Ahhh .. at last!

Kevin and I met in the fifth grade. I'd say it was love at first fight - we were brutal back then. We spent our entire fifth grade year in an on again, off again type of relationship. We were both too young to actually date, or really even to talk on the phone, but during recess, we were pretty much married every other day. Kevin was quite the lady's man at age 11. After elementary school, we parted ways and went our own directions. I went east and he went north - meaning to different middle schools. We kind of lost touch for about four years. There was the occasional sighting of each other, which isn't too surprising considering we lived two blocks away from one another. But, it wasn't until the second semester of our sophomore year when my dad and I went to the high school play where we spotted Kevin in the chorus that we really noticed each other's existence. My reaction was "Oh look, there's Kevin, he's gotten ugly!" And Kevin's reaction was "Oh look, there's Malisa, what's she doing here?" Nice, huh?! The end of sophomore year, I asked a mutual Carissa (I would say friend, but we neither one thought of her that way, she was just a girl we both knew) to have Kevin sign my yearbook. Odd, I know, after never having spoken to him the entire half year. But, whatever, I needed signatures in my yearbook to make me feel special. Kevin wrote: Have a good summer. Nothing about let's keep in touch, which seemed to be the main thing kids wrote in each other's yearbooks.

Fast forward to February 1997, our junior year, and Kevin is sitting in our newspaper class expressing frustrations over the lack of knowledge about how to ask this horrid girl he works with to a movie. Moves were really a big deal to him back then, and he wasn't sure what to do, when to do and if he even should do it. I volunteered to be the guinea pig. Little did I know that one smooth move of putting his arm around me would send me into such a whirlwind. I had a boyfriend at the time, but that really didn't seem to phase me. A mutual friend of ours invited us to join her and her boyfriend to a boy's basketball game in Evergreen. I, trying to be a good girlfriend, invited my boyfriend and he declined because he didn't believe in supporting a team that didn't support his half-nelsons, so I went with Kevin. I won't deny it, there was some major flirting that took place, ending in a ride home on the bus where I fell asleep laying my head on Kevin's shoulder while he kissed my forehead. That night changed my life forever. It wasn't long after that the boyfriend was gone and Kevin and I started the relationship we were both destined to be a part of.

We graduated high school and college together; went on a memorable trip to Puerto Vallarta as our high school graduation trip; took many a trips back and forth from Gunnison and even spun out and ended in a snow bank on Monarch Pass; worked until wee hours each week working on the college newspaper; enjoyed a nice, long walk in the middle of a Gunnison blizzard to see the movie Stepmom; were competitive in college courses we took together, all the while becoming closer and closer and interwining our lives even more.

On August 3, 2000, we went to the Dixie Chicks concert. We spent the whole day downtown eating lunch, walking the 16th Street Mall, taking the whole experience in. The concert was amazing. The Dixie Chicks are by far my favorite group and I would see them in concert any day. After the concert, we headed to Kevin's parent's house to hang out for a bit before I went home. Kevin had the brillant idea to head out on the front porch, sit in the swing and watch the stars. He went inside and then a few minutes later, he came out and flipped the bright porch light on. I immediately was getting a bit annoyed and wondered why the light was on, after all it was pretty late and I thought the plan was to watch the stars. Instead of coming to sit beside me on the swing and take in the late night, Kevin kneeled in front of me with a green velvet box in his hand. He told me that he loved me, that he'd always loved me and always would, and wanted to know if I would be his wife and marry him. My eyes starting welling up with tears, as I said "Yes!!"

On our honeymoon, we went to Estes Park. We found this amazing cabin by the river to stay at and we spent our week in the hot tub, walking around town, walking around Estes Lake, visiting the Stanley Hotel, eating, drinking, playing pool and just spending one-on-one time as husband and wife. It was such a treasured time. Estes Park will always hold a special place in our hearts and anytime we get the chance to return, we do.

And, then in December 2005 and October 2008, our love really blossomed even more when our two precious baby girls were born completing us and completing our desires for a family.

It's been quite a journey. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us, but I will say, I definitely want to grow old with my prince charming. He's the most amazing man I've ever met and I consider myself such a lucky girl every single day. Not everyone gets the chance at love, and I promise that it's nothing I will ever take for granted. Part of me can't believe we've been married six years and another part of me can't believe it's only been six years.

Happy Anniversary, My Love! I will love you always.

A mom's heart

Being a mom is the hardest but most rewarding job I will ever have. It's a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, awake in the middle of the night, then up for the day at the crack of dawn and exhausted before the 10 o'clock news kind of job. It's a job where you're on-call all the time and have to be prepared for anything that is thrown your way. It's a job where you are paid in hugs and kisses. And, it's a job that you will have for the rest of your life. Sure the day-to-day duties will change, but a job that involves your heart, sweat and tears is one that will stick around forever. And, I'm so glad God choose me to be mom to my amazing little girls! I work every day to be the best version of myself for them, not because they demand it but because they deserve it. I want to be a good role model for each of them, and I truly desire for them to both grow up with a sense of who they are, feeling secure in that, and ready to take on the world.

Recently, I have had the chance to just sit back and watch Brooklyn interact with others, and it makes my heart feel so warm. She does listen to everything Kevin and I tell her. She does hear us and she does pay attention. It's a very rewarding feeling. At home, she definitely tests her boundaries (what kid doesn't though!?), and we've both come to the realization that we can be pretty strict with her. I don't know if it's because she's the first child and being a first child myself I know that parents can tend to hold that child to a higher standard than their siblings, or if it's because we know what she is capable of and always want that from her. But, she is a kid after all, and a darn good one, if I do say so myself! She's got an amazing sense of humor, loves to play mommy to all her babies and stuffed animals (she even nurses them!), is quite fiery, but loves a good snuggle.

Tierney's personality is just starting to blossom and I love the chance to get to know my baby girl that much more. I can already tell, she's going to be a risk taker. There isn't much we try with her that she objects to. She'll try anything at least once before she decides if she doesn't like it. She's a pretty calm baby, simply loving to people (especially kid and other baby) watch, but she does love to be held. She's very grabby, gets her hands on anything and everything she can, and boy is she quick! I can't wait to see the person she's growing into. She may be and probably will be my last baby and I am just soaking up everything all the time.

My girls are so very important to me and how they turn out is a reflection of how they were raised. I want them to be responsible, loving, caring, independent, inspiring, strong, courageous, honest, Godly women. And, when they look back on their childhoods, I want them to have the fondest memories. And, when they grow older, I want to be their best friend and the person they can turn to for anything and everything in life because I will always be here for them no matter what. I love them both unconditionally and completely now and forever.

Your baby blues
So full of wonder

Your curly cues

Your contagious smile And as I watch

You start to grow up All I can do is hold you tight Knowing clouds will raise up
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Story books full of fairy tales
Kings and queens and the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see the truth from lies

Knowing clouds will raise up
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true But you are never all alone
Because I will always
Always love you Happy 3rd Birthday, Brooklyn Marie,
Mommy will ALWAYS love you!