William M. O'Keefe ~ 1.2.18 to 5.18.09

I know I haven't posted for a long time but I wanted to blog about a wonderful man I called Grandpa! He was the greatest Grandpa! I have so many memories of him and though I know he is in a better place, I can't help but cry when I think of all the great memories I was able to share with him! My Grandpa and I were a lot alike. He was a steak and potatoes man and I loved my steak and potatoes! He doesn't like fish and neither do I!! He was a smart ass and so am I!! I always felt like I had a special connection with him but he had a special connection with everyone!! For the memories, I will start with a memory I was told about. When I was a toddler, I LOVED my Grandpa so much that when parents, brother and I went to Disneyland when I was 2 years old, I wouldn't stop crying on the plane coming home! The only thing that made me stop crying was that Grandpa O'Keefe would be at the airport! Then there are the memories of traveling with him and camping at Wasatch State Park. I remember going to the National Parks with him and Grandma, Cindy and Caren. Those were some great times. I remember going to Cindy's boss' cabin in Heber and we would go for hikes. I remember the first year, Grandpa and I walk up to the end before everyone else and saying how slow they were and the next year, we were the slow pokes! I will always remember our time in Ireland! He was the oldest person on the tour but he was right there with everyone! He loved it in Ireland! It was his dream to go and he went twice! It only took him 81 years to get there! I will miss going into the tv room and Grandpa sitting in his chair looking at me and asking "Where in the hell did you come from? Who let you in?" Then he would give me a hug and a kiss on the side of my face. He would always end with grabbing your hand and holding it for a moment. The last time I saw my Grandpa was Mother's Day 2009 and he put his arm around me and kiss me on the side of my face! I will always love & miss you Grandpa O'Keefe!!! Rest in peace!

The cutest kid... EVER!!

I'm not prejudice! This kid is hilarious and so stinkin' cute!! Little do you know, he was posin' before I took this picture. He was laying back in his carseat... chillin'. Then I went to take his pic and he went shy and dug his face into the carseat and then once I took his pic, he of course had to look at it! He pointed at it and said "oh!" in amazement! Man, I love this kid! He is my heart! ;)

Pictures of the Kids

Pictures of Devon

Christmas Decorations...

We decorated the Christmas tree over a week ago. Here is Devon trying to put ornaments on the tree. He put it on and then took it off. Devon was wearing his "Who needs Santa when you have Grandpa?" shirt. Below is a picture of Olivia in front of the tree.

Devon's Birthday!

Here are a few pictures from Devon's birthday. His birthday was on Thanksgiving. We did cake that evening and he opened his presents the night before.

Devon & Olivia

Yesterday, Jamie was able to bring his daughter to our house so Devon and I could meet her. She is so cute and funny. In the beginning, she hid behind Jamie and Devon behind me. Then Devon starting jumping... well more like hopping in place and Olivia started hopping and following him while they hopped together. Then I brought out the camera and she posed. Then she popped up and sat next to Jamie to have their picture taken... see below. The they started playing with the toys. Whatever Olivia had, Devon wanted and vice versa. The Devon got tackled a few times and only cried when he didn't get his way. Then we took more pictures and I asked if she could put her arms around Devon and well, the pictures below speak for themselves! :D She had so much fun and didn't want to leave when Jamie went to take her home. She wanted to watch tv at our home. When they drove off, Devon screamed more than normal, he didn't want his new friend to leave. There will be many more times for Devon to play with his big sister. Oh and while we were eating dinner, she said to me "I don't remember meeting you for a long time." Kids say the darnest things!

Olivia Ann

Most of you don't know I have a step daughter named Olivia Ann. She is 3 and 1/2 years old. Due to certain circumstances, Jamie has not been able to be a part of her life until recently. Olivia knows him as Mr. Jamie until she gets to know him. Jamie felt it wouldn't be fair to her to spring that on her. She loves Mr. Jamie. Hopefully she can have a healthy relationship with our side of the family and I am very excited for Devon to meet his big sister. I came into an instant family when I started dating Jamie and that family is very unique and I love it! My family is now complete!! ~ Here are some pictures her mom sent Jamie via picture text

So my son is High Maintenance...

So if any of you know my man, he can be high maintenance and he is spoiled. He has me cut his toenails because I do such a great job! So Devon saw me doing this and decided he wanted his toenails cut too. He tried to lift his leg on top of the bed and when I continued with what I was doing, He proceeded to climb on the bed and get right by Jamie's feet and continued to lift his feet. So I cut his toenails. Then I put some Biofreeze (Bengay like cream) on Jamie's back, and Devon decided he wanted Biofreeze on his back. He lifted his shirt to show his back, saying he wanted some on his back. So I had to get some lotion and he laid on his tummy while Mommy rub his back down. He is so cute and smart! :D

Dancing with the Stars... I mean Dancing with Devon!

So one of my favorite shows to watch in the evening is Dancing with the Stars. I especially enjoy watching big macho athletes succeed in dancing! Well, the last couple of shows, my 2 year old has not allowed me to really watch as he wants to dance just like the big macho athletes! He loves to dance anyway but when it comes to Dancing with the Stars, he has to dance with Mommy. When the music stops though, so does Devon! I wish I had video of it but he loves to have me twirl him and do the lifts with him and when the dance is over, he claps as though he is the greatest dancer alive! He's too much like his Daddy! :D

Swing County ~ Swing State

Here is a great story on how Hamilton County... where I live, helped Obama win Ohio!!

CNN anchor John Roberts recapped the national election this way: "It is probably Hamilton County that gave Barack Obama Ohio. That was what really began to seal the deal. Florida, Virginia - just gravy on top of that."

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081106/NEWS0106/811060355

Ohio for Obama!!

Yes We Can.... And Yes We Did!!!

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. But America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there." ~ Barack Obama

The day has come when a Black man can and will be the next President of the United States!! I can't explain the feelings I felt last night as I watched abc announce the projected winner of each state! Then when they announced the next President of the United States would be Barack Obama! It proves that people are sick of the Republican way, the scare tactics, the lets tell them this, so we can get our way and take all of their money and we will live comfortably while the American People struggle! Obama ran a respectful campaign where there were no scare tactics, he focused on the issues, not Sarah Palin's inexperience, or her daughter's teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancy cause those were not the issues affecting the American People. He took the high road when it came out that Palin's teenage daughter was pregnant and said they were off limits and he wishes them well. The McSame/Falin camp allowed people to chant "kill Obama" during their ralling as if they were the foreman of the KKK. Well guess what KKK, a strong Black man IS the next President of the United States! And God will protect him and his beautiful family! God Bless America and it's new First Family!

God Bless America!

It's now Election Day! I pray for change and I pray that Barack Obama and his family is safe and protected during these emotional and historical times! I pray God takes care of us Americans who are struggling! With God, all things are possible!

The raccoon we caught...

Too bad, a week later I was looking out kitchen window and his buddy was chillin' on our window sill! But there is one less than before!

The Winds from Hurricane Ike

So it started out a normal day, just a little windy. I remember thinking to myself "man, it's windy out there, I guess it will be a windy day." Then I did some homework and then went to the store. Well I forgot to get some stuff at the store, so I went out and also got gas. Well as I was driving home, over tree branches that had fallen from the strong winds, I started thinking, I need to get home. Side note, as I was driving to the store a second time, the traffic lights up the street went out in front of me. Then Jamie called to tell me the power went out. Well I was driving home and there was a bus in front of me and a tree in front of him split in two and covered the entire side of the street the bus and I were driving on were now covered by a large tree branch... 2 and a half lanes large. The bus and I had to drive into oncoming traffic to get around it. It had landed on a parked car. So then I really knew I had to get home. I had never seen so many brnaches in the road before in my life. So when I got home, Jamie, me and the kids watched tree branches and trees snap in half out of our kitchen window. We also watched out tree sway back and forth and if it had been raining, it surely would have gone and landed on our neighbors Escalade. There is a video below showing the strength of the winds. I wish I would have let it record a little longer. Well, our power came back on at 5:30 the next morning, so we didn't loose any food but my office didn't get power back until Wednesday late evening and the storm occured on Sunday Sept 14 and the babysitter lost power until Sunday at 5:30 pm. She was without power for a whole week! My office has been ssssooooooooooooo busy since the storm up until a few days ago, things are back to normal now.

All the shrub looking stuff below the pine tree is trees snapped in 2

The 2 sections of our fence blew over

Some of the branches that fell from the neighbors yard into our yard.

Don't know if you can see it, but in the middle, you can see a light brown dot,

that is where a branch snapped off

Some Random Pics...

Here are some random pics from the last couple of months. Life has been crazy juggling a full time job, going to school almost full time and taking care of 2 kids and a man.... the man has been worse than the 2 kids! : \ We've had a hurricane like storm... well the leftover winds from Hurricane Ike, we have caught a raccoon. But those pics will be posted in a bit and here are some randoms pics!

Blake got a hold of my camera and

thought he would leave me a suprise! :D

Devon was ready to go!
Not sure who won... Devon or the spaghetti!
Devon was tired of waiting... so he found a pillow

and blanket and laid down!
Devon showing out!

School Time...

So the time has come, school is about to begin. It starts tomorrow. I have anxiously waited for this time to come and now I am wondering how I am going to manage! ARGH!!! I am in Mommy mode... I am no longer in school mode. I am a little nervous that I will not be able to do this. Then I think about the time I get on the internet and then I think... ok maybe I can do this. Not sure I will be able to do 9 credit hours each Term but I can do this. I have looked over the course work for 2 of my classes and it's do-able as long as I get help from the crazy man aka Jamie... with the kids! Also, I think Devon will be spending some Saturdays at the babysitters so I can study! Wish me luck!!

Better Pics of the boys on the horse... and Daddy's shoulders!!

Camping with the Murphy's... the pics!!