The good, the bad & the ugly
Sure, I've shared some of the good. From the photos of our trips to the lake, visiting my mom and friends in Columbus, and to California, you've seen plenty of good. But what you didn't know unless you are a close personal friend of ours, or saw the news on facebook is that we have just purchased a lot in a nearby city to build a new house! My talented hubby Scott has designed a gorgeous home to build and we'll be tweaking the details until we break ground. We hope to be building by April 2010, and move in before Thanksgiving next year. The neighborhood is filled with amazing, beautiful homes, is located practically in the national park here, and is part of a top rated school district (which if you know us, you know that's been important in our decision on where to move). Right across the street from us will live a Cleveland Cavs basketball player so another little perk is that my hubby hopes to see Lebron in the area sometime...ha! I won't be sharing many details on the house plans themselves until we're actually building because with the home being custom, we are bound to change something as soon as I tell about it. It'll be so hard to keep quiet, but I promise to share tons of photos and details when we're building.
In the meantime, as we prepare to list our current home for sale (we'd like to list it as soon as we break ground on the new home) I am going through every single closet, drawer, cupboard and storage area to eliminate clutter. I like to do this yearly anyway, but I'm really doing a thorough job now. I don't want to have any extra stuff around, and I certainly don't want to move things that we don't need or want. I'm donating a lot of stuff (just donated 5 trashbags of my clothes / purses / accessories last week!) and throwing away junk that I can't find a new home for. So far I've done my closet, our hall closets and the girls' bathroom, but I have a long way to go!
Another good thing I have yet to share here is that Sienna turned TWO on Monday! I have a special birthday post to put up so look for that very soon. I wanted to get all of our vacation photos and details shared before I moved into birthdays so that I could keep the vacation posts together.
There are many other good things going on here as well:
--Jaden is doing fantastic in school and I receive very positive correspondence from her teacher each week. She loves music, painting, wood polishing (it's a montessori thing!) and her friends Eva and Mairin.
--Sienna began a mommy 'n me class at preschool and is thriving. She loves the sand table, circle time and cleaning up (that's my girl! ha!)
--Jaden started dance class at a new (to us) studio nearby. She takes dance with her friend Riley and it is going very well. The teacher does very well with the 3-4 year olds in class and the month of September was all centered around a princess theme. I'll share photos soon!
--Scott is excited to be the owner of two Cleveland Browns season tickets and has been attending games. I went to the home opener with him and enjoyed that very much!
--Both girls are back into gymnastics at The Little Gym. They continue to excel there and I enjoy Sienna's and my time at the mommy 'n me "Beasts" class.
--We've been excited that our favorite shows are back on TV! One thing that Scott and I look very much forward to is Grey's Anatomy night when we snuggle up on the couch together for the show!
--I've gone back to weight watchers (I went 15 months ago with a friend, but then stopped) and am doing great. I've lost between 11 and 12 lbs. so far and hope to lose at least that much more.
--We are just very, very blessed. I recently saw the quote, "Every life has its dark and cheerful hours. Happiness comes from choosing which to remember." That applies so much to us. Not every moment of every day goes perfectly for us, but we are so positive and overall things are looking up in all areas. I am a happy woman :)
But then there's the bad...
The normal things that come with parenting a 2- and 4-year old are the bad around here. We have quite a bit of whining, fighting and arguing with the girls these days. I know that it's normal, and I'm doing my best to control / eliminate it, but sometimes Mama & Dad just need a break! With Sienna realizing that she has a free will and Jaden realizing that her sister has a free will, it's been a bit of an adjustment. It used to be that Jaden could have any toy she wanted whenever she wanted it and Sienna just went with the flow choosing a new toy when Jaden took over what she was playing with, but now Sienna doesn't appreciate giving up the toy she has and she fights back (rightfully so I must say!). Adding to all of this is that Sienna just got some new toys for her birthday and Jaden wants us to force Sienna to share while Jaden hoards her own stuff for herself. I welcome any advice or suggestions on dealing with this! Once Jaden's birthday is here (October 17th) and she gets some new toys maybe we'll be able to better enforce sharing, but right now I just want to say that Sienna doesn't have to share because I feel bad that Jaden wants to take all of her stuff! Agghh! It's hard to see your daughters argue and fight, but I know we'll get through this and we continue to foster their relationship so that they grow up being close friends. One thing I can say is that when the girls are getting along, it is so wonderful, and another thing is that seeing them say "I sorry" with a hug is the cutest thing ever!
So onto the ugly...
This is where it gets really bad. Those of you who know me well know that I keep my composure very well during tough times, sometimes even too well. I don't like to break down because I don't like people to feel sorry for me, but this is one area where I must admit my emotions have been getting the best of me.
This is my "Papa Geno." Throughout his life he has been dealt some health issues that he has overcome or learned to live with, always making sure to come out on top of whatever hand he's been dealt. Not quite a year ago we were faced though with sad news. He had cancer and it had spread. The doctors threw out some time lines and we knew it would be tough for him to beat this like he has done with health issues in the past, but we all still had hope.
We remained hopeful as he continued through this spring and summer doing what he is so passionate about--caring for his yard, flowers and gardens. He might have been in pain, but he seemed to us like his same ol' self.
Then this past week we received terrible news. Papa has been in a tremendous amount of pain, and there is no longer any way to treat his cancer so that he can live with it. So hospice has come in and we know that these are his final weeks. My Grandma Lulu and Papa Geno live about an hour away from us and I have to admit that I wish I had made time to go over there more this summer. I cannot think about that regret though. All I know is that from the last time I saw him to when I visited him this week there has been a huge change. Because of the pain management meds he is on, he could not remember my name. He did come around though as we visited together and ask me where Jaden and Sienna were, so I know that at least for that moment he knew who I was. It is just so hard to witness such a drastic change, and to know that this is the end.
As horrible as this sounds, I actually did better going through losing my Grandma (other side of the family) who passed last November because she gradually got worse and worse. My grandma was no longer herself by the time she passed away and even though it was tough to say the final goodbye, I was thankful she was no longer trapped in a body she could no longer control with a mind she could no longer manage. With my Papa I do want him to be out of pain and all, but I guess I'm just not ready to lose him. I thought we would have more time...
Please pray for my family, especially for my Grandma Lulu, my stepdad Gene and my Uncle Todd as we all go through this. Pray for peace, wisdom and understanding as decisions are made. Pray for acceptance as we face what we do not want to. I will let you all know as things happen and as specific prayer requests come up. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
The second "ugly" going on here is something I do not have many details of at this time, but I have heard from my mother-in-law that Scott's Grandpa (his dad's dad) who is 92 or 93 years old is also not doing well. He has been suffering from dementia for months now and his kidneys are failing. I will share some details and ask for more prayer for the Vitts as I find out what is happening in this situation.
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So as you can see there has been quite a lot going on here! I'll be trying to catch up with posting and get back to a more regular schedule, but forgive me if I get behind again. It sure is tough to do so many things and then write about them--ha! Thanks for catching up with us; stop back soon :)
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