The Giving Spirit

Today a local news station was running a huge donation drive across the state. They were collecting food, clothing, toys etc. I talked to Shannyn and Leo this morning and told them about the drive and how some kids weren't going to get any toys for Christmas unless people donated some old ones they didn't play with anymore. I asked them if they thought it would be a good idea to go through their toys and give some away so kids could have a nice Christmas. Shannyn got very excited at the idea and Leo seemed content to put some of his toys into a bucket as well. We spent about an hour this afternoon and filled up a big plastic tote with toys that they decided they wanted to give away. Shannyn decided to part with some little fairies, a baby doll, and even a couple Barbies! Leo put some of his animal toys in and some of his cars too! Of course the first question Shannyn asked was if they could get some new toys since they gave some of their old ones away. I told her that I was pretty sure they would get some new toys for Christmas. I am so proud of them for understanding the idea of charity and for unselfishly deciding to help other kids have a nice holiday this year.

Major Picture Update

So at long last...the pictures I have been promising are here! These first ones are from Jimmy's wedding. We had so much fun and it was such a great day despite all the rain!

Here is the cutest ring bearer ever! Leo did so good and loved carrying the pillow around. He was careful to know where it was at all times.

Shannyn loved dressing up in her "princess" dress!

My mom, Shannyn and me before the wedding. Three Generations!

The big moment!!!!!

My brother, new sister-in-law Carrie and my new niece Hailey

At the reception:

The obligatory cake smash

Shannyn dancing with my dad

Yup that's me catching the bouquet...
man that thing flew right toward me didn't it?

We all had a great time but Leo sums

up the way we all felt at the end of the day

And now for a few Halloween pictures.....

Shannyn was a butterfly
















Leo was a caterpillar. He couldn't wait to get into his candy!































And I was a bug catcher!


We had a lot of fun and I can't wait 'til next year to dress up again. I guess I'm just a big kid at heart when it comes to Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Hey everyone out there in cyber world! I hope that everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! We had fun tonight after a scare with Shannyn. She ate a peanut butter cup at school today and ended up throwing up. She has had mild reactions to nuts in the past; she says her tongue is burning and sometimes gets bumps around her mouth. Well I called the doctor and he called in a prescription for an epi-pen for her to carry with her now. He said that it is a serious reaction when she says her mouth is burning and that if she accidentally eats nuts again, I have to use the pen. I'm not looking forward to ever having to use it, but I'm sure that the day will eventually come.

After the nut fiasco, we piled in the car and went to Aurora to meet my brother and sister-in-law and go trick or treating with my kids and my niece, Hailey. Shannyn was a butterfly, Leo was a caterpillar, and I was a bug catcher. We had a lot of fun and I will get some pictures posted soon!

I am doing much better since my slump a few weeks ago. I have great friends up here and great family that is just a phone call away to help me pick up again.

A Rough Day

I feel bad posting this before I post anything about my brother's wedding (it was great by the way and I will be posting some photos when I get them) but I just need to get this off my chest tonight.

Today was a really rough day for me. I found out this morning that Caleb's sister and brother-in-law died this past week. They were in their cabin near Laramie and died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the heater in the cabin. They were there with their 2 kids age 5 years and 9 months. The 5 year old took care of the baby for 2-3 days before anyone came to the cabin and found them. She was feeding the baby applesauce and bananas and basically keeping them both alive until someone came by the cabin to check the heater and found the parents dead in the bedroom. The coroner figures that they died in their sleep on Monday. The kids were treated for dehydration at the hospital but are in perfect health otherwise. The Lord was definitely looking out for those kids and I know that that is the only reason they are still alive and well.

All this news came on the day before the one year anniversary of my best friend, Marcy, losing her mom to cancer and 3 weeks before the 2 year anniversary of losing Bryan. Needless to say, I am beginning to really dislike this time of year and it's usually my favorite. I called both Caleb and Marcy today and cried over the phone with both of them. I was still having a hard time keeping it together 2 minutes before I had to work on a client at the school. I'm so glad that I went into massage therapy because after my first client today, I felt so much better and was able to make it through the rest of the afternoon. I really feel like it's not only therapeutic to work on people but it is therapeutic to me as well knowing that I can make someone feel better.

I kinda feel like locking the house this weekend and staying in my bedroom but I can't let myself do that. I feel a slump coming on and I refuse to let it get the best of me. Luckily I have a craft day planned at church tomorrow morning and will probably try to get out of the house again tomorrow evening. Sometimes I get so mad at myself when I can't seem to get control but I know that it's okay to get down every once in a while. I just have to remember to keep my head up and looking forward and rely on my family, friends and faith to get me through the rough patches

First concert of the season

The Greeley Chamber Orchestra had our first concert of the 2008-2009 season on Friday. We played quite a variety of pieces and featured the oboe professor from UNC as our soloist. She was fantastic!!! The concert was great and I got a lot of compliments on my playing. I feel like my confidence has returned in force after a 2 year hiatus. I love my new bassoon and am really enjoying playing it.

My mom and dad are still in Colorado and were able to come to my concert. It's the first one they've been to since February 2007! I was so excited that they were there. I felt like I finally had someone there rooting just for me! We brought the kids and they loved the music too. Leo was "conducting" for us and I think Shannyn was just relaxed. She actually fell asleep right at the end!

The GCO's next concert is the weekend before Thanksgiving so I have a few weeks off from rehearsals but I already have my music for the next concert. We are playing a Hayden mass and probably a couple other pieces. The season is off to a great start and I am looking forward to 4 more fantastic concerts!

Labor Day Camping

I know I'm a few weeks late but hey at least I'm still posting right?

Well the Rogers clan descended on Ryan Park, WY (up in the Snowy Range) for Labor Day weekend. It's our usual spot; we've been going there for about 6 years now. This year Rene and Lori and their boys joined us and we all had a lot of fun. We ate dutch oven cooking every day and enjoyed the fresh air and campfire.

The kids wanted to go fishing while we were up there so we drove to one of the lakes on Saturday and let them "fish." Actually the 5 older kids (Andreas, Demetri, Isaac, Shannyn and Caleb) did fish with worms while Leo and Spencer just played with dipping the pole in the water. Unfortunately, I missed the biggest moment of the day when I had to take Leo back to the car but my little girl caught her first fish!!!!!! She was so excited and I guess she just squealed when the fish got close to the shore and she saw it flipping around. He was just a little guy, about 8 inches, but he swallowed the hook so we ended up keeping him and frying him up for dinner. Shannyn already has the fisherman's tale down. The fish got bigger every time she told the story!

All in all it was a really fun weekend but I was very glad to get back home and into a nice, long, hot shower. With 7 kids up there, I'm not sure if we left any dirt on the mountain! I love going up to that site with everyone and am already looking forward to next year's trip!

School Days

Shannyn started kindergarten last week! I can't believe she's already that old. It seems like just yesterday she was crawling around the floor and learning to talk. She loves going to school and loves her teacher. I'm so glad that she is enjoying it and I hope she always does. She's not too keen on doing her homework but who really does like homework anyway? She is doing great though and was actually sounding out a few short words with me yesterday. It won't be long before she'll be reading the bedtime stories to me! I hope she grows to love reading like her daddy did. Bryan was never seen without a book and would get antsy if he finished a book and didn't have another one to read. I think Shannyn will be like Bryan though. She has always liked to "read" books and lately has started making up her own stories to go along with the pictures in some of the books we have at home.

I did really well last week with getting Shannyn to school. I really didn't get too sad until Thursday when I didn't walk her to the playground. It was so hard for me to watch her walk into the school while I stood by the car. I had a huge moral dilemma going on inside my head! I felt like I was a slacker of a mom because I didn't hold her hand and walk to the playground with her. On the other hand, I was trying to let her go on her own a little bit. It was so tough and it still is, but with me back in school this week, I can't walk her into class and be on time to my classes too. Arggghhh!!! All you out there who don't have kids yet, or kids that aren't in school yet, have no idea of the mental struggle I am having over my "baby" girl!!!!! It's so hard to realize that they are going to grow up and be adults (sooner than I think) and there is nothing I can do to stop it or even slow it down. I only hope and pray that I can prepare them for life and to be responsible, caring, and strong....among other things.