Happy 18th Birthday Devin

Happy 18th Birthday Devin Michael Vaughn!!!

It is really hard for me to believe that 18 years ago today I had my first baby boy.

WOW how time flies. These last 18years have been such a journey for my "little" guy and me. He now stands 6'4. As most of you know we have had some pretty trying times. I can't even imagine what my life would have been with out this kid.

He has TRULY taught me to have patients, as some of you know Junior high was a bit more than a challenge.

I have always been proud of Devin for his determination and compassion for his family. I am really in auughh and shock that this day has finally come.

Follow your dreams,

whatever they may be,

go wherever you want,

climb mountains, sail the sea.

Do what you want to do,

be whoever you are,

don't be afraid of the dark,

just choose your rising star.

Challenge your future,

attack your very own destiny,

because some things just go and happen,

and some things you make to be.

I really love you son

and that's what these words are for,

a chance to have my say to you,

a chance to even up the score.

I love you very much,

and I'm very proud of you,

I'm proud of who you are,

I'm proud of what you do.

You've had your challenges in life,

but you rise to the occasion, each and every time,

just one of the reasons for my pride,

just one of the reasons for this rhyme.

Although you're not the greatest driver,

you've already wrecked two cars (what the heck).

Really, I'm just glad that you weren't hurt,

even though I'm now a nervous wreck !

I've watched and loved you as you've grown,

from a baby to a fine young man,

sometimes we wandered off the track,

but believe me, there was always a plan !

We have such a close relationship,

although at times you can choose to unload,

but it's OK, I understand,

you're just dealing with another kink in the road.

You've hit a lot of obstacles in life,

every time you've something good it seems to just fall apart,

but I'm proud of the way that you handle it,

it's really inspiring to know you have such heart.

Because life is a journey,

you can never get too comfortable in just one place,

you need to find yourself within,

and then you can find your own inner space.

So, I just want you to be happy,

you mean so very much to me,

just remember that I love you,

and some things you make to be.

Am I dreaming.....

I just about have the entire house organized and I am still in complete Aaugh every time I wake up in the morning. I am waiting for a new memory card then I will post pictures.

My birthday was on Monday and Joe's parents came over to give me a present (how sweet are they?) Carol bought me a beautiful throw blanket for the couch which has inspired my new colors for the family room. Purple and Chocolate brown. The entire house is painted a brownish mauve color and the blanket just popped with color. I am on a hunt for throw pillows to match my new blanket.

We just got our new fridge delivered yesterday and with the exception of all our window treatments, we feel settled. Tonight I am having my first guest over. My friend Janene is 20 weeks prego and I am cooking dinner for her and giving her the tour.

The kids have been so wonderful and responsible for there individual space. It is so great to see them so proud of there new home. I am leaving this Sunday for Vermont for my work training and Joe will be joining me next Wednesday to join me for a company Christmas party. We are staying an extra night so we can explore Vermont all day together on Saturday.

After the last couple of years of what seemed like a real living hell, I feel as though I have gone to heaven these last few months. It's so exciting that what ever happens in life good or bad we have the ability to change and re-invent ourselves.

I have to give some credit first of all to the most wonderful supportive man I have ever known. Joe is the most amazing person and I am so lucky to have him in my life and my children's life.


2nd about a year ago (when I was at an all time low) I was stuck in an airport, I had read all my Star(gossipy) magazines and was browsing for a book to read. The Secret just kept popping out for me so I purchased it and read the entire book on my 5 hour delay. WOW the power of positive thinking and the laws of attraction.

I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes with you."Close your eyes and visualize having what you already want - and the feeling of having it already." This has stuck in my mind and Joe's mind since I told him and together we have spoke about and visioned what we want our life to be.

Some days seem harder to visualize than others, but also in the book it states "An affirmative thought is 100 times more powerful than a negative one" I really have to learn a new way of thinking and responding to everything in my life.. I am a work in process but happy to absorb this new found freedom of a life I always knew I wanted but could never quite achieve until now.

All moved in....

I am so bummed our camera is not working.. It will be fixed soon and I will post new pictures. We started moving in Friday morning will a TON of help from Joe's wonderful family.( I am AMAZED how helpful and loving his entire family is) We moved and unpacked everything in just 3 days!!Our kitties Lucy and Leroy have never known another home and the move was somewhat traumatic for them, (Lucy actually started losing her hair from the stress) When the house gets quiet they venture out to explore and they are finally starting to feel at home. This has been such an amazing blessing for our family, we are so grateful to have this opportunity to start a new chapter in our lives. (I am sure most of you would say AMEN to that). Tomorrow I am celebrating my 36Th birthday(OMG) and I am sure this is the most wonderful present I have ever received my entire life. We have a wonderful month ahead of us traveling to Vermont and Colorado. My daughter Vanessa says it best " Now this is what I call living" She is such an amazing daughter and I am lucky to have been blessed with the most beautiful children. They are growing up so fast I can't believe it. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. We will have a housewarming party after the busy holiday season is over. We hope to see each and everyone of you soon.

It's official.....

Well we have done it!! Joe and I have bought our first home together. We are doing the walk through tomorrow and get the key Friday morning. We feel truly blessed to have been given this opportunity. The kids have no idea that we are moving and will be with the Santana family this weekend so when they come home on Sunday, they will have a BIG surprise waiting. Here are a few pic we will post more soon~I am really bummed that for most of our first month in our new home, we will be traveling to Vermont and Colorado for work and partial vacation. We are looking forward to many happy memories in our new home together~

Lookers, yoga and some car trouble..

Well this week has started off a little odd.

It started on Saturday. We had an open house so The kids and I dropped Joe off at his afternoon shift and we went to the Pier and had lunch at Red Robin, then we went to pick Joe up and what do you know? I ran the battery dead by leaving the lights on too long.. well we could not get the car started even with a jump so we had to call the Tow truck.

Thank God all we needed was a new battery.

We had 2 lookers today that came and toured our home, 1 couple seemed really interested, so we are hoping to see an offer soon!

Today I had an appointment at Seattle Hand Surgery for my right arm, it seems as if I may have developed carpal tunnel. I am going in for electro diagnostic tests this Thursday to confirm if I do indeed need to start treating it.

Which brings me to Bikrams Yoga.. All I can say first is WOW..

The room is 105 degrees so immediately upon entering the room, you start to sweat. I am really hoping that this will help me with my carpal tunnel symptoms and of course get more healthy.

Today I took Joe with me. I was actually quite impressed with how flexible he is. He is such an inspiration to me.

I am sure we really made quite the "pair" We left that 90 minutes class, shaking, nauseous and starving and with beat red faces. Overall we were proud we made it and pushed ourselves to finish.

We took the kids to go with us to vote and now we are watching the Decision of 08. Let's all pray that American chooses selectively and wisely. Our children need change for the future and I hope we can make it happen! (It's looking good)

Have a great rest of the week.. Looking forward to a wonderful new beginning for our country.

moving right along

WOW! What a beautiful journey Joe and I have had over the last 3 1/2 years. I thought I would start this blog to keep all our family and friends informed of our latest adventures.

Joe will tell you when he first bought the home we live in, he certainly did not expect to raise a family in it, let alone have a woman and her 4 kids come into his life like a stick of dynamite.

True to life, the unexpected happened and we fell in love with each other and the rest of that story is history.

As many of you know this was a challenging year for our family with our lovely family law system. We are so happy that it is over and we are free to finally plan our lives.

Our first big decision. Well about a year ago we saw a home being built just down the street from us. We looked out of curiosity on a walk one day, but absolutely fell in love with this home. well over the last year Joe and the builder became good friends and stayed in touch. Joe would always joke and say he was not going to sell "our house" because we would be moving in.

We watched as each home was bought and people started moving in, the builder told us the home was sold, so we put the thought out of our mind.

Joe and I really did not give it a second thought and started painting and fixing up our home for our family.

THEN....Last week out of the blue the builder asked Joe if he really wanted to buy the home and offered him a deal that seemed too good to be true. One catch, we have to sell our home first to free up our budget.

We put our home on the market Saturday, October 25, It's not the best time to sell but If we can sell our home and everything falls in place, we will be so blessed and grateful to have this opportunity to buy our first family home together.

On a fun note, this weekend was Joe's 31st birthday. We all went to celebrate at this wonderful Italian restaurant Assiagios. We are so grateful for Joe's family, they are amazing and so supportive. He said he realizes everyday how blessed we are to have them apart of our life. After dinner we went to Kells Irish bar with my cousin and close friends.

We had a beautiful weekend.

Here is the link to our home for sale

VIEW HOME FOR SALE