It's a Vivas Thing!

You are here: Home / Archives for Drama Queen

Photo Opportunity!

We like to go on walks, especially when we are in Colorado for the summer. There is a new park near us, the Wetlands, that we like to visit. Well, it’s not new, new…but they had their grand opening today for their new visitor center. And it was totally worth going, especially if you have elementary aged children. There are a ton of interactive activities for the kids to participate in. The volunteers/staff were wonderful.

And that’s before you even go out and explore the park!

Which we did! And had a photo shoot to go with it. Click on the thumbnails to see the full pictures!

Revolve…ing

It’s called a walk down memory lane… Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking the Drama Queen to her first Revolve Tour. As my friend and I drove our girls to California for the day, memories of Revolve Tours past came to mind. We laughed as we talked about taking our older daughters when they were this age…and how we couldn’t figure out why we were all so cold…until we found out that we were sitting on an ice rink! And how we were given ear plugs because it was so loud with THOUSANDS of teenage girls screaming, “Hawk Nelson!” and how they calmed down and cried when listening to Natalie Grant sing with her amazing voice!

Today it was a mega-church full of teenage girls screaming to “Anthem Lights” instead. I gotta say…I really like the lyrics to their songs. I especially like this one; what a message for young hearts!

And still, the amazing Natalie Grant was there! Always a blessing to hear her sing and share what’s going on in her life!

What a fun day I had spending it with a long time friend and our girls. It had been far too long since we had had a lengthy talk….it brought back memories of when we were young mothers just starting out….and now how we have adult children who are married and starting their own lives now. We’re one of those moms…you know, the ones that have grown children…yet we still have younger children, too. Adopting two more has given me even a larger span….ages 8 to 25!

Which brings me to today. This morning, all of the older children were gone, leaving just my two youngest with me. So, we headed to the grocery store, picked out muffins for breakfast and then headed home to get ready for church.

Which brings me to this moment…nothing better than sitting outside in the backyard with a cool breeze…listening to SOS and watching  them climb trees…happy at last. Looking back to four years ago, we just recently got custody of them for the second time. As I read, I remembered how hard it was for them to be torn out of their home yet again and the struggles they went thru just to get thru each day. Four years ago today, my then-nephew-now-son had remarked…”I’m so happy!” because he was so happy to be with us. A year later, we were flying kites in a park while the DQ got to take pictures with a new bride in her wedding dress taking photos at the park.

And then, we lost them again.

It was a long haul, but today, they are finally where they belong. And no, it isn’t easy. It probably never will be…but on days like today, it’s nice to know that we can sit outside, enjoy the weather…and have a few smiles.

And climb a few trees.

One year ago…

I looked to see what I was doing a year ago. That’s the cool thing about having a blog.

A lot of it was the same….gardening, enjoying the weather, etc. Seems I was having a relaxing weekend at this time last year.

Not so much this time. Ha ha

This weekend started off with the Smart One going deep sea fishing (I asked him to catch a shark for me, but…), the Talented One disappearing for the weekend and Bboo hanging with her friends now that she has her own car. Then there are the two youngest; one of whom I spent the entire day with at the kitchen table working on a school project. It’s careers this time, so he chose to do a project on Office Managers…aka…interview mom. That was fun as he learned about what I really do and it’s not just sit at a desk all day. The Princess got to spend quality quiet time with Dad, which is probably just what she needed.

Then we made home made pizza’s and settled in for the night….only not so much. Seems the Drama Queen wanted to have a little drama and so we ended up at ER half the night. She’s fine now, but had fun scaring us all. Bboo drove up just as we were walking out, so she drove us. Then the Good -Looking one showed up with his new bride who isn’t used to well… She’s just not used to all of the drama we experience. That’s ok…we’ll show her how it’s done!

Honestly, we try really hard to stay away from drama. We managed a whole three months…to the day!

I’ve decided that that is just what it is meant to be. In a family this large…there is always going to be something. No use getting upset…

drama=life=itsavivasthing!

So today….couch, HGTV, candy crush…well…that’s about it!

What happened?

Apparently I need to update my blog!

In the past year, we gained two new children and had many changes in our family.

And there are many more to come!

It amazes me that in just a few short weeks, the Good Looking One will be married to this angel!

And that these two are turning 20 and 13 this year!

The Talented One is almost half-way through college studying music….and she’s half way thru middle school!

(And the Drama, oh the Drama!)

And then, there’s the Smart One and Bboo….the Smart One almost finishing his first year of HIGH SCHOOL and Bboo…sniff sniff…finishing up high school forever. She’ll be 18 in just a few days…and he’ll be 16 this year!

I wrote my first blog, four years ago this past week, Whatever in the Whole Wide World. As I sat and read it this morning, I was taken back. It’s amazing how time flies by so fast you can barely keep up. It seems it wasn’t so long ago that I was the one preparing for my wedding to the love of my life, and now we’re getting ready for our son’s wedding. Where did the time go? What happened? I’m not sure, but I do know that it is true;  the older you get the more you remember the past. The Smart One and I sat at lunch the other day and talked about, “Remember When?” I realize I did most of the remembering, but we had some great laughs.

Don’t get me wrong! I am so looking forward to the memories to come. I love the new relationships that we continue to build and look forward to where we are going. I just can’t believe how fast we are getting there!

Birthday Girl!

It’s my girl’s birthday today, and I can’t believe how much she has grown up!

In our family, the birthday member gets to choose family dinner. Tonight, it was Cafe Rio.

As I sat there looking around the restaurant, I wanted to shout out,

“This is my family….all 10 of them. Yup, they belong to me, and I love them.”

I love celebrating special occasions because I know that we will all make an effort to be there together! It’s what makes our family special.

Ok…and a little weird. This picture says it all…one son with gold foil things folded up into his new “earrings’ and the other son making faces behind him while I snap a picture.

Yeah, It’s just a Vivas Thing!