My Girls

I am so happy that I was blessed with beautiful baby girl twins 16 years ago. I am not old enough to have kids that age...am I? Holding those two little peanuts after they were born, who would have guessed that they'd be taller than me by this time?! I shouldn't be surprised I suppose. But I'm still getting used to the fact!

Wow, 16 years old! And they have different priorities than I did at that age. At 15 I immediately went out and got my learner's permit. Then at 16, I got my driver's license. Not these two ~ they still don't have their permits yet! Apparently there are more interesting things to read then the drivers' manual. Like LOTR, Artemis Fowl, and the Eragon series.

It's been another fun-filled birthday week in our house! On Wednesday we stopped in at the bakery and picked up a big birthday cake for the girls to take to youth group. My younger kids were hoping that some leftover cake would make it home...not a chance! We are talking about teenagers here. ;)

Remember when I commented about P & L being camera hogs? I thought that I was guaranteed some great pictures from the celebration with their friends. Was I ever wrong about that! When it came time for me to download, I found TWO pictures! Only 2...can you believe it?!!! And they weren't that great either. Silly girls - definitely my blond ones through and through. ;)

Later in the week, they got gift cards for Nordstrom from their dad. It was a nice gesture on his part, and the girls will never turn down the opportunity to buy clothes. Especially when they keep growing to the point of having a 35" inseam! Unbelievable! The surprising part about his gift was that each card was for $50.

This would have been a step in the right direction for Tom if the girls and I hadn't received a call later that evening from my life insurance agent. Turns out my agent is actually the vice-president of the insurance company. He had been working late that night and decided to go over some of the accounts. Mine came up and he found something to be a bit peculiar.

He could see that my policy was still in force, but Tom's showed up as being cancelled back in March. He was concerned for me and wondered if I was aware of this. I explained to my agent about the divorce being final in March. He said that he had wondered if that might have been the case, and that's what prompted his call to me.

Of course you can guess that I wasn't aware of the cancellation. Tom has been telling me all along that his life insurance was up-to-date. I've had my suspicions that he was lying, so it was good for me to hear the truth ~ even if it was from someone else! We figured that the amount of the girls' gift cards would have paid his monthly premiums. We'll never understand how his priorities are so different from ours. Oh well, I think the girls have some comments about that, you might check out their blog this week.

It's been a long journey to realize that the one person I thought would be there for me and my kids, never really showed that he wanted to be. I spent several years grieving the loss of something that I never actually had. This summer has been so healing for the kids and I. Through it all, my confidence has been placed in my Heavenly Father. He has proved his love and faithfulness to me countless times in my life!

Especially recently ~ God has brought the most amazing friends and loved ones into our lives. True friendship and love that we weren't even looking for. It makes me sad at times to think about how long I lived without the amazing relationships that I have now. It's pretty cool how God knew just what we needed even when we didn't. I'm just so thankful for each and every one. I am so blessed!

Many of our great relationships are beginning to feel like part of our extended family! Like Keone & Angie with their adorable and fun kids, and of course Erik, Buni and soon getting together with their family. We have fallen in love with them! Maybe it's Keone's trampoline and Wii RockBand game, or Erik's discounts at Nike and Converse. ;) It's fun to tease about that!

P & L were especially thrilled about the shopping discounts yesterday. Buni was out of town for the weekend, so we missed seeing her. Erik was brave and took the girls and I to the Woodburn Outlet Mall. Now that, was a good time! The girls entertained us for the whole ride down. I thought they were getting a bit out of hand, and giving them "the look" wasn't helping. So, I grabbed the nearest weapon I could think of...my water bottle! You'd think that getting wet would've quieted them down. But noooooo, it was like putting gas on a fire. Then Erik chimed in with the girls to give me a hard time. I was outnumbered for sure!

The Nike Factory store was a bit of a bust. That's okay, I think we'll stick with the Nike Employee store from now on. The Converse store, on the other hand, was awesome! We walked out with the COOLEST shoes, and hoodies, tees and the best hat for Paige. THANK YOU ERIK ~ we love your discount and your shopping savvy! Did your credit card break a sweat? ;)

The drive home was so much quieter 'cause the girls actually slept the whole way. That's how I know they are still just kids ~ they fall asleep on a short road trip! Their special birthday dinner request was sushi. And when we arrived at the restaurant they woke right up! Now that the younger kids have discovered they like sushi as well, we chose a big platter to-go.

The kids weren't too disappointed to miss out on the shopping trip because they had a great time at Keone & Angie's ~ jumpin' on the trampoline all day! We picked them up and all came home for dinner. Then Erik surprised the girls with a birthday treat ~ Homemade Butterscotch pie...yummmmmm!

Tonight, our cousin Alicia is bringing over some ice cream to celebrate with us too! Everyone has come to realize just how much we love food! It's a great relationship we have with our loved ones ~ they bring something over for us, we make something for them, and we all get together and eat! Everything is better with food!!!