Love

My Madre bought me this flower to put on my desk. Its supposed to move back and forth, joyfully, by solar power. Somewhere along the way it stopped and got stuck in its current position. I kind of like it that way. Because it reminds me that I am loved even when I am not perfect. Below is my favorite passage in the Bible:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (New International Version)
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Thanks for the daily reminder Madre. You know how my faith is often tested and it reminds me daily of what the focus should be.

Birthday in Heaven

Happy Birthday Grandma,

Its hard to believe its been 8 months since you went home. Not a day goes by without you on our minds an in our hearts. I hope you liked your birthday celebration! Mom, Kayden, Katie and I went to your favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, for lunch. I made sure I brought home some yummy cheese biscuits for later. I know how you love those! Kayden enjoyed the fish tank and pretty much befriended every waiter/waitress there before she left. We all ate so much we had to take some home for later.

I thought alot about you today. Like when we were little and would make mudpies in your backyard and how you had us listen to Elvis so much we knew all his songs and how to dance to them by the time we were 5. I remembered your laugh and how you always said "well forevermore" when hearing any kind of news about the kids. I miss your giggle.

Katy and I went to see the one night only showing of the Elvis documentary tonight. How ironic it happened to be playing it on your birthday only! You must have planned that. We all went, Dad and Ria in WA and the East coast crew went too. Funny how many of us lovingly picked on you for your love of Elvis.(not me of course) I am sure you had quite the smile seeing us in the moving theatre watching him tonight. Who's laughing now?? ;-)

We also heard some news that you already knew about..it was the best news ever. Lee and BJ are having a baby. After all the tears, the fertility treatments, adoption talks, God came through and blessed them. Which leads me to this..Thank you Grandma..for loving me and always being there for me and my babies. But most of all thank you for always talking to me about God, encouraging me to be a believer and never giving up on my salvation even when I was a know-it-all teenager. I find great comort in knowing that you are with Him.

Hope you had anawesome birthday...Say hello to Elvis for me!

Love you,

Brandi

Vente Black Iced tea..one splenda? Here you go :)

Everyday I go into "my" Starbucks and encounter the awesome folks you see pictured. I love it that when I walk in the door they already know what I want and sometimes they have already began making it! Everyone of them are so nice and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better :) They are the best SBux crew in East County, hands down!

Houseguest

As of today I will have 3 teenagers living under my roof...don't ask me if I have lost my mind because that went years ago! If you were to ask my family and friends you would know that I have an open door to those in need especially when they are my kids friends. We have had many a houseguest over the years. Ashley is our newest member. She is going through a rough patch and so she and Kate will be roomies for a bit. I am glad they have each other to work through lifes problems with. Should be an interesting adventure with all these hormones running around the house!

Got nuts?

Today after church Bobby and I went to Panda Express. I tried their Cashew chicken and it was pretty good despite the fact that it had a ton of leafy greens in it. This sign made me giggle. I am sure this is what Bobby says to himself everyday when dealing with me! But hey, he's the ying to my yang and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Broccoli Cheese

My little pumpkin has learned how to open the refrigerator all by herself . So these days, when she is hungry she just helps herself! Her favorite things are chocolate milk and "broccoli" cheese. (code for string cheese) We have no idea why she calls it that but no amout of telling her the real name has changed what she calls it. Its one of my favorite things about 3 year olds. They come up with their own names of things and you have to adapt to their language. So, tonight she was on a broccoli cheese hunt and she found some. She grabbed 2 sticks, one for her and one for her Daddy. She may be able to get the fridge open to get them but opening them is a whole 'nother ballgame! So,a Daddy is useful for those types things. :)

My Crew

We are a crazy bunch. We have to be to survive the environment that surrounds us everyday! Danny and Dawn (pictured here) were saluting their fearless leader (thats me) today paying homage to my new rediculous award wall that Danny had recently set up. (see above) You can see who takes me seriously and who doesn't by the looks on their faces...ha ha But nevertheless, my faithful crew they be.. The "wall" makes me laugh everytime I see it. Its not that I am not proud of these awards and commendations its just that it makes me look WAY more important than I am!! I like my job, I love that I can help people. I look for the best in everyone and every situation. I do it because I care. I guess I need to embrace "the wall" and be grateful I was recognized. This leads me to the monkey on my back for the last week....THE POOL. Remember the work related problems of last weekend that made my life unhappy and my birthday girl even unhappier? THE POOL was the problemo. I have heard more about the pool and its drain in the last week then I have in years. My crew has tried in vain to fix it because the pool has been closed for 5 days. So..today they got back in the pool and finally fixed it!! Woo Hoo...maybe it will be a complaint free weekend! As for my crew, I love them. Carol, Danny and Dawn are what makes my job bearable :)

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today was my Madre's birthday. We all got to have a slice of this awesome Baskin Robbins ice cream cake! kayden kept saying,"I wanna taste. I wanna taste" and was able to put her finger in the cake before we could stop her!Man was that cake yummy!!! My Moms a pretty special lady..so blessed to have her! The kids bought her a hummingbird feeder, a new coffee cup and 2 Hallmark type movies, too. Happy Birthday Madre :)

These Boots

Kayden loves to wear her Daddy's Boots. Its so funny to watch her walk in them. I think every kid at some point likes to wear their Daddy's shoes. I bet if I looked hard enough I could find one of me in my Dad's boots too.

Whats for dinner?

Its taco night at the faulkner house :) Katy is the resident taco maker and boy does she do an awesome job! Gotta go get me a taco before the boys eat em all up!

Mom's Chocolate Cake

My mom makes the most delicious chocolate sheet cake. She makes one on every birthday and special occasions. Casey used to ask her to make it for him on Valentines day so he could give it out at school and sometimes jokes about selling it per the slice. What I like about the cake, besides that its super yummy and chocolately, is that because its a sheet cake. When you have a piece you don't feel as guilty as you would if it were a piece of layer cake. Problem is...I eat lots of lots of pieces!

Birthday Girl

The faces you see before you are not the sad faces I faced at the beginning of our day thats for sure!!! It was a bumpy ride with tears and pleas to just go home earlier in the day. I had to deal with some work related unpleasantness which made for a very sad birthday girl. But by days end, I had redeemed myself thank goodness! The girls are giddy and laughing and enjoying their time together. I am glad we stuck it out :) Can't believe my baby is 19...time sure flies when you are'nt looking! Happy bday Katy Boo...I love you...

The Parade

Tonight Kayden and I had a parade! She was the drummer (just like her big brother) and I got to shake the bells. Music is one of her favorite things, just like it is with Katie and Casey. She really enjoyed our parade tonight...looks like its her new favorite thing :)

These are a few of my favorite things..

Iced tea is an absolute favorite of mine and has been as long as I can remember. Now that I have tried Starbucks tea it the only tea I drink. (Good thing they have free refills for rewards members!!) The tumbler you see in this picture is like 2 tickets to the Superbowl..impossible to find and if you do , you are gonna pay a scalpers price! So imagine my surprise when my darling daughter and husband found me the tumbler. Its like the Heisman trophy and carefully guarded at all times! Another favorite is in the picture frame next to my prized cup..My grandma. She passed away last November and she is missed terribly. She was an amazing presence in my life. I can still hear her voice from time to time, encouraging me and laughing with me. I love that her picture is there for me to see when I wake up every morning. I certainly have other faves but these are at the top of my list.

The Room with a View

This is the view from my office and over the years it has provided me with hours of smiles and laughter. It used to be tinted windows and everyday I would have people primping in the window, picking teeth and popping zits without realizing I had a front seat to it all. Daily I get to watch babies in floaties, Marco Polo matches and an occasional speedo wearer. Watching the kids and parents laugh and play together really makes my days more enjoyable. The "window" also provides me the chance to see who's about to visit me. I can always tell by the determined looks and fast stride as they round the pool towards my office. I especially love rainy fall days, when the rain drops on the pool water in big splashes or the occasional summer thunderstorm that rolls through. Most days its a pretty good view, an ever changing canvas of everyday life.

Wishing Upon a Star

This is my baby wishing upon a star, in her words: " I wish, I wish on a star..that all my dreams come true". So do I baby girl, so do I!!

Mama's Spot

Every night around 8pm my pumpkin comes into my room with her pillow and "kiki" (thats code for blanket) and lays down in "mama's" spot. She thinks its funny that she gets my spot on my bed before I can get to it. She laughs and giggles and says, "I got your spot Mama!" Its our special time together..we like to watch Sproutlet, read books and tonight we will be watching "The Princess and the Frog". Its during this time that God reminds me how blessed I am to be a Mama to such wonderful kids. As far as I am concerned, she can have my spot whenever her lil heart desires.

Kindergarten State of Mind

While I was still "spring" cleaning I also came upon a book that my lil man made in kindergarten. It has 9 months of memories and pictures from his time there. This is the opening page and I have to say after reading it I realize that many of us could use a refresher course in Kindergarten 101. Ha Ha Life really is simple..why we have to make it so hard on ourselves is a mystery. Oh to be 5 again!!! Here's a excerpt:

*Share everything

*Play Fair

*Don't hit people

*Clean up your own mess

*Put things back where you found them

*Say you are sorry when you hurt someone

*Don't take things that aren't yours

*Wash your hands before you eat

*Flush

*Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you

*Live a balance life: Learn some, and think some, and draw some and paint and sing and dance and play and work some everyday!

*Take a nap every afternoon.

* When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic and hold hands and stick together

Kindergarten sounds like my kinda place..gotta run the milk and cookies are calling my name!! XO

New Life

I was going through some boxes and came upon this certificate, a reminder of the day when I chose Jesus over everything else and began a new life. Knowing that He is with me in all I do is a tremendous comfort. That day was amazing and when I look back on it I remember my church family surrounding me as I accepted Christ. I am so happy that 13 years later, I am still at ECW. Its an amazing place, filled with amazing people.

The Best Part

Over the last year or so, I have been looking at houses for my Dad. I have seen some real "winners",too. Househunting can be really stressful..you can like the neighborhood but not the house or the house rocks, but you risk life and limb if you decide to live in it due to its location. Sometimes you find a jewel in the rough, which is why I posted this picture. The home with this view needed alot of work, but the view and all the fruit and avocado trees really drew you in and almost made you forget all of the negatives about it. We really do live in paradise on earth, I just need to start appreciating it more!

Musical Family

It never ceases to amaze me how my kids connect so well with each other. The age gaps are well above the norm yet they are closer than some siblings who are only a year apart are. Music has always been a big part of my family and it has carried on to my kids. Katy will be studying music at Cuyamaca in the fall and loves singing in the choir. Piano has become her newest passion. As for Casey, he has been playing drums since he was 8 years old. He and I share a love of Classic rock and he is hoping to put a band together this year. Kayden..she watches them both and wants to do it all..sing, play piano and drums. Here they are talking about a new song Katy is trying to learn on her keyboard. Can't wait to hear the music they make together in the years to come.

Self Portrait

Today I taught my pumpkin how to use the camera and let her loose on the family. She had such a blast. This is her first self portrait. There was many a headless photo, but somehow she managed to get this shot. Its amazing how she has turned into such the little person.

Birds in Paradise

Today we went to the Del Mar Fair in search of a bird. Kayden wanted to see birds and we found these cute little fellas along the way. This picture says so much...Katy is stiff as a board and has the look that screams "take the picture please then get these birds off me, like yesterday!" Bobby is like, "this is cool and all but the bird better not poop on my nice white shirt!"Kayden.."Is this really happening..I mean I wanted to see birds but this is crazy!"

We ended up going to the pet store on the way home and ended up with fish...go figure!