30 Days of Malchi - Day 24

Not much I can say but...  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!  (11-12-08)

30 Days of Malachi - Day 23

Fourth of July fun out at my mama's. Sprinkler wet mohawk! Love it! (7-4-08)

30 Days of Malachi - Day 22

This picture cracks me up. I was TDY and Chi was with my mom and sister. When I came home, they showed me this picture. It looks like he's 'hittin the pipe'. OH NO!! I've FAILED!! (3-21-07)

30 Days of Malachi - Day 21

I told you that he loved shoes! He may not have known then what a pair was but that definitely did not stop him from trying them on (11-3-2006).

30 Days of Malachi - Day 20

This picture was also taken up at Strawberry Point, UT during our camping trip. I just love it so and had to post it.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 19

Malachi and my first camping trip together (8-11-07) at Strawberry Point, UT. Also, his first time fishing. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything. Better luck next time.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 18

It's amazing how many picture I have of Malachi passed out in his highchair. I might have to do a blog just on that. This was Thanksgiving 2006. The turkey definitely did him in.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 17

Halloween 2006, my lil vampire. He was so incredibly adorable and got several compliments!

30 Days of Malachi - Day 16

Almost looks like Chi is taking this picture himself (9-10-06). He's so handsome!

30 Days of Malachi - Day 15

This was Malachi's first trip to the zoo (5-28-06). We just happened to be in LA for the weekend and I thought it would be a good time to take him. Little did I know that it was going to be a huge work out climbing the hills. All in all it was lots of fun

30 Days of Malachi - Day 14

My lil budda belly baby! Time to go swimming!

Komen Southern Nevada Race for the Cure ~ May 2nd, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Southern Nevada Race for the Cure® on May 2, 2009 in the fight against breast cancer. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Southern Nevada Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

Click here to visit my personal page and pledge your support.

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Komen Southern Nevada Race for the Cure®. Your contribution is tax-deductible and 75% of the proceeds will remain in our Community as funding for Southern Nevada organizations dedicated to serving uninsured and underinsured women and men affected by breast cancer. 25% will be sent to Komen National to support the Komen for the Cure Research Grant Program. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Together, we can make a difference...and we will!

"Breast cancer knows no boundaries be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location"

To sponsor my participation online, click here.

The History of St. Patrick's Day

So, I have never REALLY known the true history of St. Patrick's Day. I decided after all of the years of celebrating I should at least know what I am celebrating for. I googled the history and I thought that I would share my findings. It's pretty interesting stuff. PLUS if you make it to the end you can see pictures of my St. Patty's night...

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.


Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders



It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)



Guided By Visions

After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)



Bonfires and Crosses

Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries-spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.)




The History of the Holiday

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.




The First Parade

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.



Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies, like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.



In 1848, several New York Irish aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world 's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.



Each year, nearly three million people line the one-and-a-half mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades including between 10,000 to 20,000 participants.





No Irish Need Apply


Up until the mid-nineteenth century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic Irish began to pour into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.

However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.




Wearing of the Green Goes Global

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.

Me, Justin, Kara, and Mike at Fado's.

I'm getting lots of St. Patty's Day lovin'!

Justin's Sgt., Mike, and Justin aka McSillyFace

Double fisting... actually I was holding Justin's beer...

30 Days of Malachi - Day 13

Malachi's first birthday!

30 Days of Malachi - Day 12

Walking and new shoes... now if we could just put them together.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 11

My lil drummer boy...

30 Days of Malachi - Day 10

This was Malachi's first time horseback riding. He had a wonderful time!

30 Days of Malachi - Day of 9

Isn't funny how the simple things are always the most entertaining for the little ones? He must have spent hours playing with this box.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 8

Not much I can say but I LOVE this picture. His face is just so innocent and loving.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 7

This picture always makes me think of Tom Cruise in Risky Business. I love it. 9 months old, standing but not walking yet.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 6

This was Malachi's first Halloween, nearly 7 months old. He didn't quite understand the whole cutting a face into the pumpkin nor trick-or-treating BUT he did think that pumpkin was very tasty!

30 Days of Malachi - Day 5

A special love between my two boys has existed since day one. Chi is 5 months old in this picture.

I GOT A NEW CAR!!!

Details to follow.............

30 Days of Malachi - Day 4

This is when Malachi could first hold himself up on all fours. He would rock back and forth really fast with a huge smile on his face. I would crack me up. I also call this his playboy pose... Too cute.

Spring is in the Air

My trees in my back yard have got these beautiful flowers on them now. I can't wait until my tree is way bigger and has even more beautiful flowers on it. Spring is in the air...

Agent Malachi

After lunch, walking back through the mall, Malachi was off in imagination world. Apparently he was Agent Malachi and was shooting all of the 'bad guys' in the mall. Thank goodness that we were safe and had such a great escort! Had to get this on Video...

RA SUSHI

This afternoon Kaylie, Chi and I decided to have lunch at RA Sushi. I have been dying to go for months since me and some of the girls from work went. We ordered edamame and miso hot soup to start. This soup is SOOOOOOOOO good! I have only found it at RA. It's a spicy verison of miso soup with mushrooms and shrimp. I highly recommend it.

Miso Hot Soup... YUMMY!

Then we ordered a caterpillar roll (Eel) and a vegas roll (Spicy Tuna). Both were great!

Caterpillar on the left and Vegas on the right.

Chi loves sushi and everything that goes with it. He ate most of the edemame, a bowl of miso soup, teriyaki chicken and rice.

For some reason Chi started looking at everyone through his binoculars while chewing on his chicken. HaHa!

And of course my lil love bug gave me big squeezes... almost popped my head off! HAHA!



It was a good time and great food!

Strutting His Stuff

This afternoon, Kaylie, Chi and I went to the Fashion Show mall to do a little shopping and eat some lunch. While walking through the mall, Malachi was strutting his stuff and I couldn't help but get some footage...

30 Days of Malachi - Day 3

This is Malachi at a couple of months old and just starting to be strong enough to hold his head up. The face he's giving me just cracks me up.

30 Days of Malachi - Day 2

Only 4 days old Malachi was resubmitted into the Sunrise Hospital with Jaundice. Being a new mom this was really scary for me. But the nurses took great care of him and great care of me too. After 4 days in the UV rays they let him come home. The sunglasses eye shades were a hit!

30 Days of Malachi - Day 1

I have been inspired by Carol to do this type of entry.

I plan to post a picture everyday of my lil man, Malachi. Starting with pictures from when he was only a few days old up to current. The 30 days is a count down to his 4th birthday! YAY!

This is probably one of my most favorite pictures of little Malachi. He is only a day old in this picture, fresh out of the womb. I remember just staring into his eyes and wondering to myself how it was possible to love someone so very much in such a special way with only knowing them in such little time. He is my little angel. I love him soooooooooo much.

BOWLING!!

Saturday night after mass, Malachi and I met up with a few of my friends and went bowling at the Orleans. I had taken Chi once before but that time we went to Red Rock. I think next time we will go to the Red Rock again. The Orleans is ghetto now. A bunch of little hoodrat kids running around with absolutely no respect for anyone or any of the equipment they were using. Plus they didn't have cosmic bowling and there were a couple of older men beside us that were getting cranky with Malachi running around. Other than that we had a blast and none of those things seemed to bother Chi at all.

This time Chi got to wear the special bowling shoes. He thought that was pretty darn cool.

Chi did all kinds of bowling techniques. He did the grandma roll, the sideways grandma roll, and even managed to throw a few down the lane.

After every toss, Chi was so excited and did a very inspirational happy dance which he continued until the ball would finally meet the pins. It was after all a good 45 second process.

He really enjoys bowling and so do I. It's a fun hobby to do together. But next time you will find us at the Red Rock...

Mommy and Son Time

For reasons I'm not going to discuss, Malachi and I stayed home together on Friday. Since our day wasn't going so great, I decided to step it up a notch. So we went and had breakfast at our new little favorite breakfast place (For Ron ~ It's called A New Day Cafe). After I enjoyed eggs and sausage and Chi the smiley face pancakes, we went to Home Depot and picked up some flowers for the backyard.

After the snow this winter, the majority of my flowers in the back were killed. I let Malachi run wildly throughout the nursery and pick out several different kinds of flowers. I do have to say, he did really well. A very nice variety and beautiful colors.

So then we headed home and we started to prep the back flower area. Once we started to till the soil, we discovered that we had new little friends living in the soil. There were several night crawlers squirming around. Chi thought this was sooo cool! I did too and was thankful that these plant helping creatures were now residents.

We planted all the flowers and even saved a few for a new pot to put in the front.

Abe's "See Ya Later" Party

Thursday night the ISC put together a (as I like to call it) 'See Ya Later' party for Abe. Abe has been called to duty once again and leaves in April to Afghanistan. It absolutely kills me to see him go. I know that he is going to a very dangerous area and will be doing very dangerous missions. But I also know that Abe is a good man and that there is no way God will take him yet. He has many more important missions to do on Earth. Like be a wonderful husband to his new wife, Leslie and be a wonderful father to his son and daughter that are growing up soooo fast.
So back to the party...
We arranged to have a little get together at Sierra Gold and it was a very good turn out. Many people showed up. The 'big boss' was even there and gave a very nice speech/talk/advice to Abe as well as an appreciation certificate. This is where I got teary eyed.

Unfortunately, Abe hadn't been feeling too well all day and left fairly early. But the rest of us stayed in his honor and partied it up for him.

Joe, Charlie, and Randy played pool most of the night. Charlie beat their butts!

Note to self... don't play Charlie in any game that even remotely involves alcohol.

Julie and Fran... chit chatting.