Happy Birthday Merlin!!

I am so proud to be Merlin's Mom!!! I am sad to be away on his 10th birthday. We were able to celebrate his birthday before I left. Merlin has always been an answer to a prayer for me. He is caring and wonderful! He is a great brother! I hope he truly knows just how very much I love him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERLIN!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Sweet Angel

11 years ago today I became a Mother. I will forever celebrate the day my precious Carolyn was born!! Every year I get a new plant on her birthday. Unfortunately I can not say that I have been able to keep them all alive but I love to get a new plant to add just a little more life to my home in Carolyn's name. :) I love this one too! The girls helped me pot it just before I left. (Charlene and Zoey) I am so very grateful that I have a guardian angel. Now more than ever! Not for me, but for the children. Bella is comforted in the fact that a guardian angel will be looking after her mommy while she is away. She looks at her pictures often now. Carolyn has found a way to be one of THE BEST big sisters ever!!! I am so very grateful for the role Carolyn played, and is continuing to play in my life, and in the lives of my family!!

Letters From Lisa B

I will not have an address to where letters can be sent to me for about two weeks. As soon as I get one I will send Daniel the address. Daniel will send my address through email to all that are interested. I have provided all the email addresses of the people I thought might write me, so chances are, if you read my blog on a regular basis, you will be getting an email from him. I just want to say that I know letters will be really important while I am gone and I will write as much as I can. I will be sending Daniel letters Daily and I will send him letters to post to my blog at lettersfromlisab.blogspot.com (there is a link located at the top right of this blog for your convenience. :)
I have no idea how often there will be entries but I do plan on sending letters for him to post, so check it out every once in awhile. :) Daniel will be using this blog to post pictures of the kids to keep everyone updated on the life at the Breitling/Nell residence!!

Oh How I Love These Children!!

So there are a few things that I put in place so the kids don't feel like I am gone completely. :) I gave them each a stuffed animal to give them hugs from me while I am gone. (Yes I even got that great big bear for Daniel so that our bed doesn't feel so empty) I also gave them a letter about how I feel about them and gave them something to do for me while I am gone, take care of Daniel, don't torment Merlin, be nice to your sister, that kind of thing. I also gave them their picture above and one of the pictures taken on our Dates. I gave them a journal to write in as well.
They all gave me a really nice necklace with an Angel pendant as a reminder that I have a guardian angel watching over me! A day full of love, a day full of tears. Uncle Steve came over tonight to wish us luck and we talked his ear off for a couple of hours. It was good to just sit and chat and not think about anything else for awhile.
There was a tear filled heart felt "see ya later" (no good byes, because I will be back) from Harrison and Zoey. What a wonderful family I belong to! :) I have SO much to come back to....

Lucky, Lucky Me!!

My Dear Sweet Husband

As you can see the machine at K Mart just kept getting worse as the weeks went on! But they were still a lot of fun to do!!

There is not much I could write right now that won't make me start crying all over again. I am so blessed. I have such a wonderful family. I have Children and Step Children that love me dearly. More than I think I ever understood.

And Daniel? Well that is something I am not sure how to explain! As all of you know, I have been head over hills for this guy since the day that we met. I told everyone that would listen how PERFECT he was!! I said it so much that my family was concerned that I was going to get hurt because no one is really perfect. And okay okay I never thought he was perfect as in could do no wrong and never has. I meant perfect as in he is perfect for me! And I have never thought differently. However, until this past 3 weeks I did not know the extent to which that was true. There are no words to describe what we have been through the last three weeks, but I will say a few things from the bottom of my heart, in more honesty than I knew was possible.

I trust Daniel, not only with my life but with the life of my children.
I am so entirely proud of who Daniel is.
Daniel and I work perfectly together as a team.
I have never felt so loved, so complete.

Daniel-You are my everything. I love you more than words give justice to. Thank you for taking this journey with me and giving me part of you and your life. I look forward to a lifetime of growing and loving with you and with our wonderful children!

Bella Bean

Bella and I did not go on the same kind of date that I took the other kids on. Because of Bella's school schedule I get to spend a lot more alone time with her. I have been very conscious to give her my full attention when we are together. I had Bella at one of the darkest times in my life. She breathed life back into me and gave me the strength to change my life. She looked so much like Carolyn and her temperament was so much like Carolyn's I felt like I was getting a little peace of her back. Bella has always been very special to me for these reasons. She is really independent and thoughtful. I love her so much! I will miss her like crazy!! And I can't wait to get a Bella Bean Squeeze hug from her when I get back!!

I LOVE YOU BELLA!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Davies

Since Grandma and Grandpa were not able to make it to Linda's birthday dinner, I went to see them today. :) The first thing my Grandpa said was directed to Daniel and he said "So, what do you think about Lisa going off to protect us?" Daniel just answered "Proud" What a great family I have! :) I was wonderful to see him, and I was glad to know that I am still not too big to sit on my Grandpa's lap!!

Tonya Neff-Roberts, LCSW

Today we took the kids to see my Counselor, Tonya. We decided it would be a good idea to have someone that the kids could talk to while I am away. They will be going to see her once a week. :)

Her practice is in this small house that was converted to her and her partner's offices. In the basement there are several kid focused rooms. The kid's favorite room was a padded room that had stuffed animals in it. (I think we need one of these in our house, one that we can lock from the outside....j/k) There is a room to role play, and a room with sand tables and lots of little toys so that the kids can tell her what is going on with them by how they make the toys play with each other. There is also an art table where they can color and draw. All of the kids (besides Bella, silly girl :) ) Made me a good bye card. They are very sweet. I will miss these kids so so much! I do feel better knowing that they will have someone to talk to. I am so grateful that Daniel had the inspiration to do this for the Children!

Tonya is now working her private practice full time and is looking for new clients, if you or anyone else you know needs a great therapist, I highly recommend her!

Isn't Linda's Birthday in August?

I have started a tradition of making dinner for each person in my immediate family for their birthday present from me. I do this for a couple of reasons. Mostly selfish ones... lol. I want to spend time with these people... I like them a lot, and sometimes life does not permit me to see them very often. I also love to cook. Especially in a beautiful kitchen like the one my parents have! Another part of my tradition is giving this present about 6 months late or so.... lol. Not on purpose, just the way it happens. In fact, if I was not leaving town, Linda may have had to wait even longer. :) And her poor husband did not even get a dinner this year. My bad. (happy birthday Kevin too. :) ) So anyway, since I will be leaving next week, I also invited both sets of grandparents so that I could see them before I left. (Linda was kind enough to let me steal a little bit of the lime light) Unfortunately, my Grandma and Grandpa Davies could not be there because of health reasons, but we sent some food over there. (Thanks Mom) Grandma Breitling had to be a bit late due to a surgery in the family but it was nice to see her before we left! Grandpa Breitling was able to be there. It was a lot of fun to hear about his experiences in the Army Reserve (something that I did not learn about him until recently) He was also a Drill Sargent! Now when I have a Drill Sargent yelling at me, I can smile inside and know that on the inside he/she is just a sweet grandparent to be! :) Grandma and Grandpa B gave me a small journal to take with me to record my experiences. How perfect was that? :) I hope Linda enjoyed her birthday dinner, she will be due for another one around the time I return!

What's on the menu?

Caramel Apples (made by Daniel)-Pine Nut Cous Cous (made by Daniel)-Strawberry Almond Spinach Salad(Made by Lisa)-Old fashioned green beans(Made by the two of us)- and Pineapple Terriaki Salmon(Made by Lisa). We also had fresh baked wheat rolls. :) We made tons of food and sent Linda with the left overs for her birthday treat.

Lisa's Dishwasher :)

Because of work schedules in the past, this was the first "birthday" dinner that Daniel was able to fully participate in. It was so good to have him there. Not only do I love spending time with him, he comes in really handy in the Kitchen. From prep to cooking to clean up, he was there for me every step of the way!! Thank you Daniel!

Thank you Linda for putting up with your little sis! You have always been there for me and I really appreciate it! :) You are such a wonderful aunt to the kids. :) Thank you for being my friend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA!!!
(who cares if it is late? it is the thought that counts right?)

SHEESH!!

So I wrote my landlord an email last night to let her know that Daniel and I got married and that I need a new lease since mine had expired to turn into the National Guard since I am not going to be living on government property. (oh all the fun little requirements! lol)

Her response?

"Congratulations! We have been discussing raising your rent for months now so I guess now is as good as any."

I thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I would share. Best wedding present I have received, my rent is now $40 more per month!

(just kidding Linda.... we all know my bestest wedding present was that really cool wedding cake you made!!)

My Date With Harrison!!

Harrison and I went and posed for our pictures first. The machine was still broken, so we did not have to pay for these either. I hope to get the chance to redo his and Zoey's before I leave. But it was a lot of fun anyway. Then we were off to the food court. Yep! You guessed it. Panda for lunch!! Harrison is so full of personality if you couldn't tell just from this picture!

We went to Game Stop. Harrison really wanted to get the game Kingdom Hearts. He was worried it would be more than the amount that I told him we could spend. It was exactly the right amount! He was stoked!! The treat he chose was a caramel apple dipped in chocolate and mini m&ms!! He also decided to by some chocolate soda. Sounds interesting... I did not try it, but it smells just like chocolate syrup you would make chocolate milk with. :) Harrison was a joy to talk to. He promised to look out for the other kids while I am gone, because he realizes how much he would miss his mom if she left, so he knows it will be hard on the other kids. He is such a sweet kid and a wonderful friend and step brother! I am so glad he will be here to help out and to keep and eye on his Dad.... Hehe.... Just kidding. He also promised to send me some jokes to make me laugh while I am away. I am looking forward to those letters, and all of the letters I receive while I am away!!

I LOVE YOU HARRISON!!!