Second Annual N.Y.C.

I was lucky enough to be invited in on the girls' day in New York City for another year. This is only my 2nd time, but Karen and her sister have been doing this as long as I can remember. We took the train in and walked in the rain from Grand Central to Times Square. Luckily, we all had umbrellas.

Our first stop was a souvenir shop to look at some 'genuine' Tiffany pieces and Coach sunglasses. It's one of those 'just don't ask any questions' types of things. I came home with one necklace.

Next stop was a little deli for a quick sandwich and then onto our first show...

It was tremendous! I had seen it once locally when we took C4 and Madsion, but this was a different experience. The stage at the Minskoff is the most versatile I've seen. The costuming was simply outstanding. You have to remind yourself that they are people, not actually animals.

Next up was a little more street shopping and then dinner at the Olive Garden in Time Square.

Me, Karen, MaryJo, Chris, Brenda, and Mary

When we came out of the restaurant, Elmo and Minnie Mouse were collecting donations, so of course I had to take a picture with Elmo to show Trevor. Then it was Chris's turn. You might remember her time with Naked Cowboy last year!!! Well, we missed him this year because of the rain, so Chris took full advantage of her picture op with Elmo. It may have been the only time that he had a woman's leg wrapped around his, but you can see that he didn't hesitate throwing his arms around her for a little PDA.
We stopped and looked at some t-shirts and spoke to the vendor, a very nice veteran of the last 3 wars. Although he's disabled now and clearly needs some more counseling, his stories were a good reminder to us (me) who haven't got a clue, how blessed we are to live in this awesome country with our freedom.

We then walked a couple blocks down to catch our 8:00 show...
It was tremendous; a must-see! It was a simple set that had very few moving parts but the singing and dancing were unbelievable. Those Hispanic women know how to move their bodies! The show was full of energy, despite it's lack of a gripping plot.

We cabbed it back to Grand Central. When I got home at 2:45 am, I woke Rocco up to feed him and was in bed by 3:00. What a day!!! Thanks to my Mom and Russ and Colombo, the kids were well cared for and even got to all of their activities.

Braces

I know, I know...I am WAY too young to have a child in braces! How did this happen? Yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital!

Because of several issues including a significant underbite and tongue thrust, it was time to start the repairs. Step one was getting spacers in the back 3 days before the BIG appointment.Although they were irritating and uncomfortable, he tolerated them well. The day after, one popped out so we were off again to the ortho to have it replaced.

On Friday (10/23/09), he sat in the chair for 2 full hours with his mouth open while they fitted and applied the brackets and wires.

He told me his was making faces at the doctor under those glasses!

I had a "moment" while we were there. I had left the 3 middle kids home doing school with Daddy. As I watched my #1 son do this official pre-teen thing, I held Rocco sleeping in my arms. My eyes filled with tears as I remembered holding C4 as a baby. Where did the time go? How am I so blessed to be his Mom? Have I been the best I can be for him? Why does time have to go so fast?

With C, we were ecstatic to have a baby, but we were the typical 1st time parents, just trying to stumble through and figure things out. We were anxious to see him crawl and walk and talk. Now that I know how fleeting this time is with precious babies, I wish I had just sat with him more, just rocked him to sleep more, smelled his little head more.

So I turned to wipe the the tears from my cheeks, and prayed that I would just continue to savor each and every day with C. I pray I am exactly what he needs for a Mom. Not perfect, but perfect for him.

I was so proud of him! So he got a milkshake...

Day 1 was uncomfortable, but mostly just the awarkdness of having a 'new' mouth, now filled with metal.

Day 2 was less pleasant. The dull, achy pain had set in. I cried again as I held him (like a 70 lb. baby), unable to take the pain away. With a looming cold, he was pretty miserable and slept on the couch for 4 hours.

Day 4. He cried himself to sleep again. He's tired of hurting. His mouth is full of sores. He can't eat anything except for yogurt, mashed potatoes, milkshakes, etc. He feels weak and out of control. He's been extremely agitated and lashes out easily. I was not prepared for such a long adjustment process.

Day 7. We are definitely over the hump! C4 still feels sore and awkward, but has found a way to go about life with braces. He still is not eating everything he'd like, but that will come. He's been very good about brushing and saying no to things like candy and gum.

The office called to follow up, so I explained our struggles but explained that I think we're 'good' now...fingers crossed.

We're all used to the new look. He looks a bit older, but I think they suit him really well.

Learning to Skate

Sorry about the dark photo.

Nathanael had his first 'Learn to Skate' lesson this week. He did GREAT! He really wants to play hockey, but Colombo and I have him pegged as a slower-sport kinda kid. Maybe we're wrong, but we just see him playing something slower paced like baseball or golf, both of which he enjoys. Maybe he'll be the goalie...kind of sit back and watch the action, or maybe he'll prove us wrong and just really take to the game. It's in the DiSalvatore blood, so who knows?!

The night before, Colombo got him all suited up and ready to go. With 5 kids, we try (as much as possible) to make these things a BIG deal for that particular kid, whatever it may be...you know, let them have their moment in the limelight. So the whole family watched as he proudly brought out his new skates and tried everything on. AND, the whole family made it to his first lesson.

Here he is happy to be in all the gear, with new helmet, skates, and gloves. Believe me, we are NOT against hand-me-downs, but for kid #3, it was special for him to have his 'own'. And it was part of the sign-up package. (The jersey, hockey pants, skate guards, and pads were thanks to his big bro.)

I was so proud of him! He did great! He participated the whole time and there was marked improvement at the end of the hour. He came off the ice with big smiles!

An added bonus was having his best bud, Sean, skate with him for some of it. Sean was all suited up for his game which was right after the learn to skate. He stuck right with him and I'm sure was a huge encouragement. Five more lessons to go!

And here's the picture that Mr. O'Connor (Sean's dad) snapped. How sweet are they?!

Birthday Road Race

To celebrate my Mom's birthday, Lisa arranged for the 3 of us sisters and Mom to all run a local 5K road race.

We met for breakfast, cards, and gifts, and then headed down to the start line. Russ, Mom, Allison, Amanda, Bethany, Shaun, Lisa with Aiden, and Avery

Above is the beginning, with our group bringing up the rear. The nice police officer behind us was kind enough to get on his loud speaker and say, "C'mon, let's get moving! No pain, no gain."

Thanks, Buddy...how original! Did you think of that on your own? Thankfully he only followed for the first 1/4 mile or so.

Although we took our time, we all crossed with smiles on our faces.

I'm very proud of Mom for getting out there for her FIRST race. Go #62!

Goodbye, Andrea and Gabby!

This season, Jonathan is playing for the Houston Aeros. We are excited for his opportunity but sad that it is, once again, so far away from home. He left in the beginning of September for camp, but Andrea and Gabriella stayed because Annie was the Matron of Honor in a wedding last weekend.

On Thursday, we all got together for one last day of fun and dinner together. Given the 74 degree beautiful fall day, we couldn't see sitting inside the whole time, so we walked across the street and played in the soccer fields.
Andrea showed off her mad skills while playing with the boys.

Gabriella loved the leaves.
Nick and Katie came for the day.

TJ took my picture.
Good luck, Jon. We will miss you all and can't wait to see you!

13 Years, Baby!

We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on October 18th.

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Not a lot of fanfare...the first half of the day was spent traveling home from California. After a half hour at home, I was off for an video interview at church and rehearsal for our upcoming production, "The Lost Son."

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I picked up Chinese on my way home and after dinner and a game of Clue, we settled the kids into bed. Colombo drew a bubble bath and lit a bunch of candles. He's always been good with cards, and he gave me one this year that would make any woman cry. His sweet words to me were so affirming of myself as a wife and mother.

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I can honestly say that things get sweeter every year. We joke that we've been happily married for about 9 years. The first two were a struggle. We were 19 and both had some growing up to do. Honestly, I'm not sure why we stayed together. I think both of us were just stubborn enough to simply not give up.

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With the surprise of my first pregnancy, our relationship turned the corner. With family support and by God's amazing grace, we persevered and things have only gotten better.

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We've had our challenges and still have the days that we really just don't 'like' each other a whole lot, but what we do have is commitment. First we're committed to Christ. Then we are committed to NOT being a statistic. We are committed to growing old together. We are committed to our family and giving our kids two parents who love one another.

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Early on in our marriage we saw a marriage counselor. He said that marriage is like a flower garden. When it is neglected, it gets weedy and overgrown and really can just look like crap, but when it is properly tended to and cared for, it can be such a beautiful thing. That has always stuck with me and is a constant reminder to keep working at it, keep weeding, keep it pretty. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed or empty, I know it's time to get out and start doing some weeding and pruning.

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I think we both are constantly looking to better ourselves as individuals, as fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ, as husband and wife, and as parents. But in that, we truly have learned to appreciate each other and somehow time alone has a way of maturing us. Understanding, patience, compassion, empathy, respect have all weaved their way into our relationship simply because of time passing by. Life has eroded away our jagged edges.

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Colombo is a gift. God gave me that man. He is exactly what I need. He is a fortress to our family. He is an incredible provider, leader, comforter. He's like a fine wine that only gets better with aging.

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We wanted to get married young and to have kids young so that when they have moved on there is still time for us. We're having the time of our lives now with 5 kids, but look forward to the future when we can again fan the flame of our love.

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When the champagne goes flat and the roses wilt, we always have commitment. It has seen us through to this point. I just feel blessed that he's still into me and I'm still into him.

San Francisco

This is my fourth trip out to San Fran and I still have to google it to check the spelling! Colombo has an annual Channel Partners Business, Golf, and Wine Fair that he attends. This year, he took me and Lisa and Shaun. It's hosted in either Sonoma or Napa every year.
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Although 'wine country' is BEAUTIFUL, it's a long way to get there from here to there. First there are the details of getting the kids taken care of, and thanks to Colombo's parents with a little help from Laurie, I never worried about them for a second! Then there is the fact that it's a cross-country airplane ride, and a rental car ride for an hour, BUT as we pulled into the resort, the Meritage, and had our car doors opened for us, it was all worth it!

The resort was nestled at the base of a vineyard. We were treated like gold by the hotel staff, and the room was one of the 3 nicest we've ever stayed in. We had a private balcony, a full kitchenette and a washer and dryer.

EVERYTHING is taken care of by the hosting telecom agency. Once we checked in, we were showered with gifts, meals, pampering, and all the wine any person could want.

On the first day, Colombo and Lisa had meetings to attend. I headed for the fitness club with my book, then grabbed breakfast to eat on our balcony, then spent the better part of the day reading. Totally relaxing. Then I took the car and dropped Shaun off at a golf course and went into downtown Napa to get my haircut. In the evening, I joined Colombo for the trade show and dinner party in the hotel restaurant with about 30 other people.

On Friday, people had the choice to do a spa day in the hotel's spa located in their cave, a wine tour, golf, or lunch on the Wine Train through Napa Valley. The boys opted for golf, and Lisa and I enjoyed lunch on the Wine Train. We were delighted to eat with a very nice Christian couple from Seattle. The train brought us through the Valley and along miles and miles of beautiful vineyards and wineries.

This area of California is all about the wine! It's crazy. Even the UPS store waves a banner, "We Ship Wine." It's part of the culture there. This particular week was harvest week, so we saw lots of people (mostly Mexicans) picking grapes, even through the night, with lights.

The train then dropped us at a winery, Domaine Chandon, where we took a guided tour and learned the process of making champagne, followed by an outdoor tasting. It was a beautiful 80 degrees and sunny.

That evening we attended a semi-formal banquet for awards, food, live band, and dancing. We left shortly after the incredible meal. On our way back to our room, we spotted the fire pit and decided to chill there a little before bed.

On Saturday we headed back to San Fransisco. We peeled off to take some pictures of the Bridge, which was under some fog. It's a common occurrence out there, but the other 3 times I'd been, it had been totally clear, so it was neat to see the fog rolling in and burning off in the coming heat of the day.

Then into the city where we drove down Lombard Street, otherwise know as 'crooked street.' It was beautiful with bursting hydrangeas, so beautiful in fact, that a wedding party was doing pictures there.

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Then down to the Piers and Fisherman's Wharf. We parked the car and walked down to the ferry. Shaun had pre-purchaed tickets to tour Alcatraz.

As we crossed the Bay on the ferry, it was obvious how this island, amongst the myriad of sailboats, acquired it's name, The Rock.

We were fascinated by the history and stories that came via our headset audio guided tour. The cells were 5' by 9', impossible to imagine living there. Harder to imagine life as a prisoner there, though, was the trying to imagine life for the 70 families that lived life there. The wardens, the guards, and there families all lived there. The children would take a boat back to the city everyday for school. It was like a mini village...except they shared it with 260 of the worst crimials locked up in this maximum security prison.

This was the warden's home.

This was some of the housing for the guards' families.

The day was gorgeous again, 70 and sunny. Thanks to Lisa, snapping away, I have many great pictures.

Check out the sky!
The city in the distance.

We had a nice dinner and then just walked the piers which has the 'feel' of Times Square, just not as many people and a totally different backdrop. We saw Bush Man (I guess the San Fran version of NYC's Naked Cowboy) who squatted next to a garbage can with a couple of bush limbs hiding himself and took great pleasure in popping out and totally freaking out his next squealing victim.

We also saw a foursome of kids, presumably siblings, who reminded us of our kids. A little guy who couldn't have been older than 4 or 5 played the drums, his sister sang lead, donning a tambourine, and two preteen boys played guitar.

Back at the airport, we 'fixed' a minor flight change, boarded at 10:45 pm and were back home at 11:30 am on Sunday morning. So happy to see the kids, but grateful for a great get-a-way and fun trip.