Oh Madison

Isn't she Cute? And she knows she is.

My Christmas Wish List.

Today I opened an email that was sent to me from my husband and I thought It was sweet and It brought tears to my eyes. It also made me think of some of my great christmas memories. I remember Always having Christmas eve at my parents house. Both sides of our family would come . My Mother Always made a great dinner And the best christmas cookies I have ever eaten. I have wonderful memories of christmas past. I dont remember the toys we got Or the material things of christmas I remember being with family And nobody can take that from me. My girls christmas Is different than mine was growing up but we make it as memorable as we can. I want them to remember Family not toys and gifts.

I cant believe how fast this year has gone by . It seems like just yesterday It was my daughters birthdays , and yet here they come again . Better yet it seems like just yesterday Rosie took her first step , and Madison was still crawling . They are getting older with every blink of my eye . "Time" is actually the moral of this whole email . Anyone who knows me is aware I am a person who speaks his mind probably more often than I should . I am very rarely at a loss for words . What most people may not know is that I probably watch , and listen even more than I speak ( if thats possible ) .
I have two tales to what I see . One tale that I find very gratifying , and one that I find almost disheartening . Allow me to explain ..................
I have learned many many lessons in life . Some to soon , some to late . I live in a world where I see people complain EVERYDAY about this world we live in ( myself included ) . Now granted the economy isnt quite what we dreamed it would be as kids , and granted we may not all be living the dream job life , but I think this world has changed us in ways that are very frightening . Call it an Arizona observation , call it a selective family observation . The world I remember is christmas eve's at my grandmothers house . Every year the same tree , same lights , same foods , same everything . One might argue a change is good , but I adamantly disagree . Change leaves one thing in my mind ........NO ROOM TO MAKE TRADITIONAL MEMORIES . I am bothered that we are in a world where we all spend the holidays apart . This world we live in can take my patience , it can take my health , it can steal my dreams , and alter my goals , but it CANNOT take my memories !! My memories are something that will be in my heart , and my mind even when I am 80 if I am lucky to be here that long . Things have changed though unfortunately it seems . Since when did any family of mine ever decide to have 3 different Thanksgiving turkeys at 3 different houses ? Since when did we loose sight of visiting my grandmother ( the glue that kept our family together for years ) for the holidays ?
The truth is we live in a crazy crazy world where we dont even know if these holidays will be our last chance to all be together . To whomever reads this letter I would like you to keep this in mind . Last December 25th my family and I spent a wonderful christmas together . It was my dads first christmas in Arizona , it was just a very pleasant christmas in general for all of us . A few short days later ( December 30th ) I was on the side of a highway for 5 hours after taking someones life in a fatal accident . Before the police came I opened my truck door and hugged my two screaming daughters tighter than I ever had before . All I kept thinking was would I spend next christmas with them ?? Would I be home for New Years with them ?? I hugged my wife and told her "everything will be fine" even though I really didnt believe that . You see I was afraid of being charged with manslaughter even though I knew there was nothing I could do . In this world you NEVER know how quickly things can change . Here I was wondering the night before what to do for my youngest daughters birthday the following week . Suddenly one day later there I was wondering if I would even be home to celebrate it .
Soon after Our very close friend Jay was in the hospital hanging on to his life by a thread . I remember talking to Pam thinking " this cant be happening " We literally just saw them weeks before , and all was well . Then with the blink of an eye we almost lost him . We were all too numb to even digest what was happening .
Along with all this we all know someone in this world who has been seriously ill , and/or had some kind of medical issues this year ( My father included ) .
I could give example after example to what I am trying to explain . Instead I ask everyone to think of this one thing ................ Imagine for one second how much different all our lives would be if just one of those examples had taken a turn in a different direction !! This entire year would have been altered in ways we cannot even begin to fathom .
One thing I can say for sure is that this year has probably been one of my most difficult years as far as learning lessons go . It has taught me to look at people in a different manner though . People I am not fond of , became people I could deal with . People I love became people I loved dearly . And friends I dont live near have become people I hate living WITHOUT . This brings me not only to the title of this letter , but also my point in general . While children are making santa there christmas list , and while people are emailing , texting , and chatting with friends and family about what there wants all are for christmas . I have a simple christmas wish lists that wont cost anyone a dime . Here it is ............

Read this letter , take it in your minds , and your hearts . Think about all the people you have already made , or will make a christmas list to. Then ask yourself what life would be like if those people were not a part of your life . Think of all the scares this family has encountered this year alone that could have taken ANY of us out of this years holiday picture . Frankly the thought of it sends chills throughout my body . What I am trying to get at is that presents , gifts , stockings are all great . However , there is one thing that is better than any gift I could find under my christmas tree this year . That "thing" is FAMILY !! I left the word "friends" out for a reason , and that is because in MY world ....MY FRIENDS ARE ALSO A PART OF MY FAMILY !!!!
I also wanted to let everyone know that next year my wife and I ( along with our girls ) intend on coming home for the holidays . I want to spend next christmas eve at my grandmothers house where all my memories began. I hope many of you will find your way back home for that night as well . Family gatherings may not be what they once used to be . And though I am not a kid anymore . I plan on using that week to bring myself back to memories of my younger days ............ Even if only for one night !!

If anything I hope this letter makes all of us go home tonight , and let your special someone know how happy you are to be entering these holidays with them by your side .

Thanks for taking the time to read this ,
Shane

Cleaning up Before the Holidays

So on Sunday I decided to go through the girls room and cleanup and get rid of the Toy's that they never play with, the clothes they never wear which all went to the goodwill .Of course they were upset to see the stuff go.So I told them that you need room for the stuff Santa is going to bring and that made everything better. They also got the cutest Hello Kitty Winter Jackets for the trip to Lake Tahoe that is less than a month away they are so excited to see snow. So Im going to post the pictures of there cleaned up rooms and there new beds they are so cute.

Carrie Underwood and Little Big Town.

So after waiting 3 months the Carrie Underwood concert was friday. Of course I got sick with a sinus infection but I could not pass up going. It was a great concert. I have to say that It was actually better than Kenny Chesney. And Little Big Town Rocks.

Little Slugger

So Yesterday we Took the girls to the park to use there new baseball bat. Madison Is quite the little slugger. She Hit every ball that came to her. She must get it from Shane because I am not very athletic.