Joshua Robert Chambers

To my baby brother, who I think of every day.

Joshua Robert Chambers came into this world for many different reasons.
These are some of the reasons he has made my world so different.
It was just us 3 and he made us a family, giving me someone to stand by my side through all of our childhood. I would climb in his crib when he was a baby to be near him, I would try to protect him as big sisters do. But this baby brother of mine grew into a man that has taught me so much.

He was a sensitive and kind kid that made me laugh allot. We would cuddle on the coach every Saturday morning watching cartoons. We would sit next to the heat vent with our blankets, begging our Mom to turn up the heat.

We were a pair, we didn't like to part. Even when Joshua went 2,000 miles from home, I followed him to our new home. Because even across country if Joshua was there, I was home.

He is good at everything he tries at, and he has that certain thing that makes everything come together and makes it complete. I was the worrier and he just made things happen. I always wished I had that in me, and the older I get the more I try to make that happen.

He taught me to let go and believe.

We fought, we cried, we grew. We went through things only brothers and sisters do. We listened to James Taylor and hugged each other when we needed it. We took care of each other and we got in trouble together.

We are older now with different lives and Joshua's new home is far from me. But not a day goes by that I don't think of him and know he'll always be: the baby that made my family; the kid that grew with me; the man that taught me to ride that wave and close your eyes and believe.

Joshua there is no one else like you, you are that something special I have. I love you different than anyone else and thank you for coming into my life and help shape me to the person I am today.

Happy Birthday baby brother,

Love you madly,

your sister

my Aunt Patty

Well I reconnected to an Aunt today that I haven't seen in a very long time. I am close with both sides of my family and it had bothered me that I hadn't seen Aunt Patty in quite a while. She lives in a home and has manic depression and schizophrenia . Recently she had gotten sick and I don't like to admit it but that brought on some guilt. My Mom, Aunt Joyce, Aunt Linda and I went to the group home to have a little visit and when I walked out of there I felt like I had a new Aunt. No doubt it's hard to see her like that, she is very thin, not very talkative and her sickness has taken a toll on her but somewhere in that beautiful soul of hers, she let me in. And it felt SO great. When I was younger she had given me a hemp bracelet with pretty little pink beads in it, this bracelet has shown up with perfect timing and reminds me daily as I wear it that no matter what I do, there is always someone who has made a difference in my world.
Thank you Aunt Patty, I missed you.

Cassie's photo shoot

This little girl makes me melt.
Since she didnt wanna smile at the family pictures, we tried her by herself and it went like this:









One goofy lil munchkin with a smile that makes everything ok.

NOW you get mad?!

Saw this on a blog - I feel like I don't know enough about Health Care to form a solid opinion. But I do believe we were in need of a major change. So I am sitting back and hoping for the best.

I do find it SOOO annoying that even without complete knowledge of what the future holds, everyone wants to complain about what is going on and doesn't seem to remember EIGHT years of BS we went through. I don't think this will be perfect and there are things that I don't agree with, paying for abortions, or the rumor that immigrants will have free health care but ya know what?! you gotta start somewhere. And for all of you that believe that getting charged 28.00 for an aspirin at the hospital is normal, you are blinded by the ridiculous insurance companies that have monopolized health care. Time for a change.


Wanted to share:
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, Now you get mad!? You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President. You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy. You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed. You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed. You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war. You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq. You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people. You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans. You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden. You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed. You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown. You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich. You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark. You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.

Family pictures 2010

YES!! We finely got some family pictures!! And I will add that it turned out better than I expected. But don't worry we had our share of craziness. All my kids are total hams when you whip a camera out, but going to a studio is a whole different story. Cassidy nearly lost her mind and was pretty outta control, which meant that Thomas or I had to run around with her while the other 3 were cheesing it up.

But whatever, we got something. And actually I'm pretty happy with them. Some are just your normal classic shots but I love the one where we are all high-fiving and the boys back to back.



I love the ones of Thomas and Cassidy too. She really didn't want anything to do with getting pictures taken but when she was with her daddy......she smiles.

And then there are my two boys. I love the way Tanner is looking at his big brother. This picture is a small example of how it really is at home. Tanner just adores Tristen and wants to do everything he does.

Then my 3 beautiful lil loves. This is the only one with all 3 monsters in it, but its ok, I love it.
Cassie with her tear, Tristen with his missing teeth and Tanner and his cheesy smile.
Life doesn't get much better than this!

Tanner is 4!!!

My little love Tanner is 4 years old today! And for some reason 4 sounds so much older to me than 3. But this was a big year for my little man. He grew in leaps and bounds and still makes me smile with his devilish little grin.


He's speech is so much clearer than before, I think pre-school really helped. Sometimes it is still a little hard to understand what he is saying but SO much better. He LOVES school and his teacher Miss Julie. She just thinks the world of him too. They are very cute together and he really listens and pays attention when she talks. They dance and sing and do tons of crafts and he really is learning so much.
Tanner is really sensitive and hates to be scared. He hates life sized cartoon characters and will hide behind me and grip on to me with every muscle in his body. This has resulted in even eating under the table at Coney one time as he was hiding on SpongeBob. Poor kid. But I do have to say he did really good with Santa this year. Usually Santa is a bad one too but I think because Cassidy was screaming so loud Tanner was over powered by his sisters Maria Carey high pitched scream. She does have a set of lungs on her!
He has a little friend that he wants to marry, Miss Lily. Lily is my girlfriend Mandy's little girl, and she is just adorable. Those two together are so cute, when they see each other they run up and give each other a big hug. I love it!! For a while when you would tell Tanner that you loved him, he would say No mom, I wuv wiwwy. I tried explaining to him that he can love me too but he didn't go for it. It took a few months but now he has opened up his big heart and tells me that he loves me too!



I have this special little place for Tanner, all of my kids do something different and special to me and I love that everyday I see something different in them. Tanner has this side to him that just makes me melt. He is very affectionate but only when he wants to. If you wanna cuddle and he wants to be left alone, just leave him alone. I have learned this the hard way. But then out of the blue he will walk you and snuggle up and play with my hair. Seriously I could cry every time he does it. He just makes me feel special and luck to be his mom!

Happy Birthday to the yummiest 4 year old out there!

Tanner started PreSchool and he really loves it. I was a little nervous for him, I didnt really know if he was ready but of course he proved me wrong. His teacher, Mrs. Julie who does have a last name but I cant even pronounce it so Mrs. Julie works allot better. We love her and Tanner just thinks she is the best. I worked in his class this week and its so awesome to watch your kids in a different environment. Tanner is so kind and a really sweet kid. He listens great, he pays attention and he always wants to help everyone. So I am going to ask Mrs. Julie to move in here so he will do the same thing at home. I will let ya know what she says, lol. But I am really proud of him he is turning into my little man. And look at this smile. The thing about Tanner is he does not hide a thing and he wont fake it either. If he doesnt want to smile for a picture, your better off just putting the camera away because you will just end up getting a picture of one pissed off little boy. But when he is happy and smiling, it is the truest most perfect smile in the world. I remember my Dad telling me that I wear my heart and emotions on my sleeve. I think this young man might be the same way.

Then my amazing lil football player. He IS amazing and I am at awe of how great he is. He is quick, smart, tough and such a great sport. As much as I love that he is so good at sports, I love even more that he is so encouraging on the field. Anytime anyone makes a good play or needs a pick me up, Tristen is right there cheering them on and telling them how awesome they did. I love, love, love that. You cant teach that to your kids, it has to come from them. And he is such a team player. He makes me smile every game and has grown up to be such an awesome kid. Last week he lost both of his front teeth and he was convinced that he could scare the other team with how mean and tough he looked, toothless. lol, I just love him.

Now is this one proud dad/coach or what?! I already raved about Thomas coaching but Im not the only one that thinks he is a great coach. So many parents have made comments about how great he is with the kids. He is also the LOUDEST and I dont know how he doesnt lose his voice every weekend. He has become a Clawson Maverick and we are both so happy with the choice we made to buy a house in Clawson. SUCH a great city to raise our monsters.

Tristen and a couple of his buddies, Carson and Gage after a tough battle against Troy.

Cassidy is getting so big I cant stand it. I know she is a year old but she is my BABY and shouldnt be growing so fast- it's freaking me out.

The other night I was laying her down to go to bed- I still rock her to sleep- as I did with the boys and I thought to myself-Self, she really is old enough to go to bed by herself. But then I had a vision of all my babies grown up and not wanting me to lay down with them anymore. I got that big lump in my throat and disregarded the thought I had 2 minutes before that. I dont care if you think I'm spoiling them and I dont care if you think she is too old to still be rocked to sleep. That is what I am gonna do untill she tells me to leave her alone. Even if she is 16. I already know I will miss that amazing feeling of my babies cradled in my arms and holding my finger as she drifts off to sleep.

HBD Bear

Dear Tristen, November 12, 2009
8 years ago today was the day that changed my life forever. You came into this world with your eyes wide open and instantly we all fell so in love with you. I held my baby for the first time and I can’t even put into words what you did to me. At that moment when they put you on that warmer I remember looking at your Dad and watching how proud he was to have a son. It was an amazing moment for both of us. We walked into the hospital as 2 kids and walked out as brand new family of 3. We grew up overnight and it was the scariest most life changing moment of my life.
Now about you, I could have never imagined that I would have such an incredible, kind and awesome kid. You amaze me every day. I love how caring you are and how you strive to make people smile. Watching you play sports is one of my favorite things to do. Not only are you a natural athlete, the way you are towards your team is something I will forever be proud of. You are so encouraging and such a great leader; you always make me so proud to be your mom. Your vocabulary is outstanding and I wonder how long it will be until I have to ask you what certain words mean. I have never met such a smart 8 year old in my life. You pick up on things so fast and you remember every detail on every conversation you have.
When I was pregnant with Tanner I remember being so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with you as I did the past 4 years. But when Dad brought you up to the hospital to meet your baby brother you walked right up to him and wanted to hold him and gave him the sweetest kiss on his cheek. At that moment you seemed so grown up and I was a little sad to see you turn into a little boy before my eyes. But no matter how old you are 8, 18 or 80 you will always be my baby.
I just love and adore you so much Tristen,
Thank you for all that you do for me,

Mom

summer 09

So summer is quickly leaving and school is will be starting soon. We enrolled Tanner in preschool 2 days a week and I cant wait to see how he does! He is pretty excited and is really happy about getting his very own backpack. I remember when Tristen started pre-school and I was a mess. I think it may be the same with Tanner, I just cant believe he is ready to start school. He will love it and I think it will be so good for him to play with kids his own age. Poor baby is stuck right in the middle of games he doesnt get yet when he hangs with Tristen and baby games like peek a boo when he hangs with Cassidy. So this will let Tanner act the age he is. He is at a funny stage right now. He loves to make people laugh and he does a great job at it. He is very daring and fearless but very cautious too. He is sensitive but not as sensitive as Tristen. Tristen gets his feelings hurt quick and hates to see other people sad too. He is a huge competitor and gets so mad himself if he is not #1 in everything he does. THIS is from Thomas. I mean I love to win as much as the next person, but these two have to be the best at everything they do. Which brings me to the next chapter of my life................FOOTBALL. Let me start from the beginning. All year at school they passed out flyer's on a weekly basis about signing your kid up for football. Everyday I would go through Tristens backpack before we got home and search for these flyer's and destroy them before my husband would see them . Let me add that I always knew Trist would play football but because of how much they practice (m-f 2 hours a day) I wanted to wait as long as possible. Anyone that knows this family realizes I am locked into football for a very, very long time. So prolonging this was my only option. Then one sunny day at the park, our friend Nancy, who has a son in football and 2 daughters that cheer, said to Thomas "ohh are you going to the football meeting on Saturday?!" I almost peed my pants. All my hard work gone with 10 words. So Thomas goes to the meeting to sign him up and comes home with the news that he is head coach. I knew it. Here it goes. This is my new life. So practices start and both Tristen and Thomas are so excited. I took Tanner and Cassidy up to the practice in the 90 degree heat, I sat down on the grass and watched a moment I wont ever forget. I was there to see one of Thomas's dreams come true. He was coaching his son at football practice. I remembered what it felt like to watch Thomas coach when he was at Anderson and I got that silly feeling in your belly like when we first met. So fricken awesome. He really really loves it and he is so good at it and ohh my god Tristen loves it too. It is a big commitment for a 7 year old but I think he needs it too. My life as a football mom has now begun.

And my sweet Cassidy with her curly hair is getting so big and changing everyday. She has a crooked smile and is talking up a storm. She is determine to get her way and will scream in the highest pitch voice until she gets her way. This is something we are working on. But OMG she is just the cutest little thing ever. I love that when you have your first baby you cant even comprehend loving another as much as you love the first. Then the 2nd comes around and I was dumbfounded at how much I fell for Tanner, then that baby girl came and I cant imagine my heart has any more room to grow. I am just at awe of these kids. I mean our lives are turned around and busier than I could of ever thought and some days I wonder how we do it all. But around 10:00 at night as I sit in a quiet house that is full of my sleeping babies, I cant imagine my life any other way.

My baby and her Birthday

She's one!

I wish I was more excited to write that and I feel awful for not even wanting to post this but I'm pretty emotional about her not being a baby anymore. I just cant believe that a whole year has gone by and I wont be cuddling with a newborn ever again, nor will I feel that baby in my belly giving me heartburn and punching my right rib cage. As hard as Cassidys pregnancy was for me (and anyone who had to deal with me) I just don't feel ready to close that chapter. So as she turns 1 I am reminded how quickly time slips away.

She is so amazing and beautiful and her personality gets more interesting everyday. She isn't completely walking yet and finds its easier and faster to crawl still. But within weeks I know this will change. She does that baby drunk walk right now and is still figuring out the whole balance thing. She is talking a bunch and has this crazy high pitch scream that makes Mariah Carey sound like a bass. She says mom, dad, pretty, tickle, bye-bye and waves. She will give you a kiss and I think she is close to blowing you a kiss too. She is scared of whoopee cushions and random weird things that I cant figure out yet. She is a total flirt and has already figured out how to charm people with that smile of hers. She doesn't eat much baby food anymore and pretty much eats whatever we do. Although she is still drinking that expensive formula but it has lots of good vitamins and is easier on her tummy so we will stay with that for awhile. She still wakes up at night but its not every night and sometimes I think she wakes up out of habit. She loves to dance, all 3 of my kids LOVE to dance and daily we watch them burn off energy by turning up the tunes and watch them run around shakin their booties. That is our form of entertainment and something I will remember forever! She has many nicknames, Cass, Cassie, CassieRoo, sissy, peanut, love, Thomas calls her tug boat too.

She has a smile that makes you melt instantly,

She has a laugh that brings me to tears,

When she lays her head on my shoulder I feel like I could hold her forever,

When she looks at me I memorize every detail of that incredible stare that only we share, together.

She is my dream that came true and I cant imagine my life without this perfect little girl.

Happy Birthday Love