A Mothers Day Present to Remember

 Most of you know that I'm a HUGE fan of Yanni.  The music he creates inspires, relaxes and enthuses me.  I would say that throughout the day whether it's through my ipod or pandora on my tv that I listen to his music at least once a day.  So, when I heard that he was coming to El Paso, TX I had to take my mom, Karen and her mother Edith along.  I was lucky enough to get front row tickets!!  I'll never forget the moment when Yanni stepped out on stage and we realized just how close we were to him, my mom grabbed my arm with both hands and while shaking me said, "CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!  WE'RE SO CLOSE!!" 

So, the music was loud and upbeat and we were so excited to be there.  Getting to sit so close was a totally new experience for us.  We've been to his concerts before, but were seated so far away.  This time it was very intimate because of the Theatre and we could see the sweat of the musicians while they played and the veins in their arms as they just NAILED their parts.  I'm so glad that Karen and Edith got to go since I've been trying to explain what his concerts are like.  You just can't put it into words.  Yanni said that he'd be back next year so we'll be ready for our Yanni Fix with whoever wants to join us! :)

This is one of my favorite songs and Samvel Yervinyan just always plays it as smooth as butter!!  I'm convinced that he's the BEST violinist in the world.  While watching him play I would just marvel at how he can get the most intense sound and then the most gentle, almost like a whisper out of the violin.  So amazing.  I'm sure he has to replace his bows after every show because the strings are just falling off from his intense playing.   I listen to this song while jogging, folding laundry, mowing the lawn YOU NAME IT!!  Just when I thought they weren't going to play it at the concert, Yanni came out for an encore and I stood up, screamed (don't worry I wasn't the only one!!) and started dancing!!  Here's a video of that song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSrH_oqnrl0&feature=related

This song Yanni dedicated to his mother and when I heard it at the concert I couldn't contain myself.  Tears just freely flowed as I thought about how sweet it was that I was able to share this experience with my mom!  With Karen and Grandmother also there sharing the moment; it was just to much for me, so beautiful.  Such a moving song, Felista. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiTwKBhL2Wk

Listen to the other Yanni videos, close your eyes and feel the music.  If you want another dancing song listen to WORLD DANCE.  I'm so thankful that God blesses people with such talent.

Claire #5

Claire has been dying to turn 5 yrs old! It's the time that she gets to start school and all in all, I think there's just something about the number that makes her feel big. :) If I could describe Claire I'd say that she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. (Her brothers and sister might disagree at times. ha ha) She has such a SWEET spirit and maybe that's because she still is so innocent, but that is a quality I love about her. She still has her own sense of style, yet I'm seeing it calm down a bit now that we're in summer and the thought of wearing layers just doesn't apply. Here are a few pictures of her birthday celebration. She requested pinkalicious cupcakes, her favorite book.

Almost a Decade Old!

 I know I'm way behind on posting, enough said. :)  Bryce turned 9 last month!  Wow, it makes me sad to think how big he's getting.  Sometimes on Sunday afternoon we watch family home videos and I think watching those videos brings back all of those feelings you have as a new parent and just the adoration you have for your children.  Bryce was a cutie-pie as a little guy.  Such an inquisitive little tyke who loved reading, going to the park, the beach (when we lived close to one) and anything to do with Daddy!  He was born with muscles and he's still just a stout little man with a big heart.  Jesse and I are really proud of how hard he's working in school and in learning how to skateboard so well.  He competed in a little Skateboarding Competition last weekend and to our surprise he earned 2nd PLACE out of 15 other kids.  Since then he's been begging to go to other meets.  He's at an age too now where peer pressure seems to be a bit more prominent in his life, but I try to sit back and watch the decisions he makes and thankfully he's been making good ones.  I hope he's a light to others around him.

That weekend we traveled to Tucumcari to visit Jesse's Aunt & Uncle, Tracy & Hershell.  I did a Shelf Reliance party for Tracy's Quilting Group and then another one at her church.  The Jesse and the kids had a good time out on the farm with their cousins and all the animals.  Jesse's cousins Scotty and Ginger were there also with their kids.  I missed the show Scotty gave with the horses, but the kids raved about it.  Scotty used to live in France and worked in the Disney Wild West show, so you know he's talented.  I'm just sad that I didn't get as many pictures as I'd hoped.   The last day we were there Hershell saddled up the horses and pony and we all had a turn.  Bella LOVED the pony!  Even when the pony was just standing and eating she still didn't want to get off.  Jesse and I haven't been back to Tracy & Hershell's house in almost 10 years!  We're so glad we made the trip and hope to keep family relations close.  Thanks Tracy & Hershell for being such awesome hosts and showing us a good time! 

Bryce made YouTube!

So, as you know Bryce LOVES skateboarding.  It's not my most favorite sport out there and I never thought B would be into this, but actually it's been really good for him.  It's taught him perseverance, determination and it gives him an escape.  Jesse and I both video taped him doing all of his tricks as a one year anniversary mark since his first skateboard.  I made it into a short video.  I have to say that I wanted to do so many other editing tricks, but for some reason Windows Movie Maker has changed to Windows Live Movie Maker and it's pretty horrible.  You only have a storyboard to work with and not a timeline.  So, I have to use a different program, edit it in three sections, import it into movie maker (I had to use this program since it's an HD camera) and then, finally I got it to publish.  It's always so fun doing these video's, but to be honest it's VERY time consuming.  I stayed up every night till 3 am for 3 days straight working on this video.  So, Bryce I hope you appreciate it.  We'll see how much you have improved by this time next year.  Bryce wants people to make sure and "Like it,"  it makes him happy.  Here's the video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DY_RCUbPlc

We Got Spirit!

 Last Saturday the kids and I rushed over to Onate High School to see my niece Brooke compete in a Cheerleading competition.  I've watched Brooke most of her childhood sporting around Cheerleading outfits for the bulldog games and she used to do little cheers for all of us, and practice her jumps on the trampoline.  So to see her as a Freshman doing so well was really special.  It was my first time to see her do her thing this year and we were all very impressed.  My pictures are horrible so I apologize for the blurriness, but you get the idea. 

Happy Birthday Cameron!

It's lucky number 7! Cameron was King for the week (and boy did he act like one.) in honor of his birthday.  I don't know how many times I heard Cameron tell everyone "I can do whatever I want cuz it's MY birthday!"  I tried to let it slide as much as possible to make his day pleasant, but there were a few times I had to remind him about reality.  Cameron lost his other front tooth and has enjoyed the complexities of eating because of that.

We had a party with the family at the pool here in town and had a good time.  I made him a chess board cake this year because he LOVES chess and we also got him an XBOX kinect which really got him excited.  But, of all of the fancy gifts and activities that we did, Cameron is still just a toy car loving boy.  He's had probably the most fun with his race car set.  We sure love Cameron; his zest for life and desire to entertain us. (Even though it verges on the edge of annoying at times) :)  He keeps things interesting at home and really desires deep down to be the best he can be.  He told me that since he's 7 now that he should probably do a little more to be responsible.  (In his toothless voice)  He's so sweet.  We love you cameron!

Mountain Get-a-way!

We spent Valentines Day and a couple days after in Ruidoso and the weather was wonderful!  The boys and I got to spend the day up on the slopes while Karen and Cody watched the girls for me. THANK YOU!! 

At one point Jesse and I were heading down the mountain by ourselves and after he did a few tricks on his snowboard and making it look so easy, we realized we had the whole mountain to ourselves!  It was a school day that day and so things were quiet.  Very nice.  The past three times I've hit the mountain I've tried snowboarding, but this time I wanted to get back to skiing and forgot how much I LOVE skiing!  My confidence was up and so I hit a blue trail (which actually should've been a black)  I was all by myself and wondering how I was going to get done this trail alive!  So, I slid sideways as much as possible and then a more experienced skiier stopped and talked me into going for it.  So, I did and survived luckily.  Needless to say it was last time I went down that one. :)

Bryce did really well on the snowboard for his second time.  I think all of the skateboarding has helped him sooo much!  At the end of the day he tried a ramp and I'm so mad at myself for not taking a picture, but Jesse and I were really proud of the kids for trying so hard.  At the end of the day I've concluded that skiing is much gentler on the body than skateboarding. :)

One afternoon we took a stroll down to the lake and were suprised to find it frozen solid! Jesse stepped out onto the ice and I was ready to take a picture of his tanking into the water, but after realizing how solid it was we were all on the ice playing around.  

Abe's checking to see just how deep the ice is.  I'm pretending to be an ice skater and not succeeding. ha!

Glad that's over!

The kids stock pile of snow balls.  Bella & I were too cold to stick around for the battle.

 So, last week the kids were out of school from Wed. through Friday.  Wed. the roads were so bad.  The kids and I wanted to head to the store, but mid way I turned around because the roads were so icy that I had to drive 10 miles an hour and plus, I kept seeing shards of tail light glass on the road and figured I'd better get back home. We only received snow on Tuesday night, but the temperature never reached about 20 degrees for a few days.  I know that's nothing compared to some, but when the weather has been in the 50's all winter long, it's a bit of a shock.  So, El Paso Electric experienced power failure and we had blackouts all over the place.  Schools and government buildings were closed because of the blackout and so the kids enjoyed some time off. 

On Sat. I came home from jogging and noticed that our snow was melting and decided that we should make a snow man while we still could.  Claire and I thought it would be fun to transform our snowman into different characters from the boys costume box. We had a good laugh.

THE FASTEST MELTING SNOWMAN IN THE WEST!

                                LUUKE!  Use the force! Bella was the only one small enough
                                             to hide behind the snowman to hold the props. :)

 

Here's to all of the Boy Scouts of America!  Claire's trying to make a fire and looks pretty happy about it. :)

                                              

SUPERMAN! Bella's not so sure.

                                        HI-YA!                                                         Beaverly Hills Ninja!

                                                            Our Tribute to Shawn White

                Claire's been watching Annie lately and wanted to see what she would look like as a red head. :)

                                                           These pics just make me smile.

          ON GUARD!

It's a good thing we made our snowmen when we did because it wasn't an hour later that I looked out the window and our snowman was toppled over.  So sad.

Energized!!

This past weekend I was able to attend a Shelf Reliance Conference (our first one) in Albuquerque.  About a week ago I got a call from the Vice President of Direct Sales, Jason Norton and he asked if I would take a few minutes and talk to everyone about why I decided to become a consultant.  I accepted and was a bit nervous.  So, I asked my mom to come along with me for moral support. :)

  The conference was educational and I felt like I walked away motivated even more than I already was about this company and the future it has.  I feel like one of the people who bought stock in Coca Cola or Microsoft when they first started and who knew how big that stock would later be worth!  

Shelf Reliance has only been doing the "Direct Party Sales" approach since April, 2010.  So, the field is ready to reap and it's a HUGE FIELD!  Jason did a little research on New Mexico and in 2008 the population was 2,059,179.  (I'm sure that number is bigger now). There are 700,000 households so for the amount of consultants we have now in New Mexico we would each have to approach 23,000 people in order to get the word out!  That is so amazing to me!  It just shows you how big your potential will be!

 The beauty of this is that I don't have to keep my business a regional thing.  I can go National and soon once Shelf Reliance is in all 50 states (they need Delaware) then they are going to Canada and soon other countries as well.  The world is your market!  So, the potential is amazing and I'm very thrilled to be apart of this.  Please...join my team and see how this will change your life!!   I have people all over the state asking for parties, but I can't drive 8 hours to get there, so I'm desperate for consultants.

Other things I learned from this Conference...
1.  Food is a NEED! (unlike other products, food is something we constantly consume, thus people will be back for more.)
2.  Shelf Reliance has the best compensation plan.

3.  It's a Family Business.  We have NO monthly sales quotas!!  You can put in 20 hrs a week or 2 hours a month.  They know that you have life outside of your business! :)  They believe in educating people on how to become self-reliant.

4.  Untapped World Market.  Like I mentioned earlier, this is going to be something that will be in most people's household within the next 5-10 yrs.

5.  Perfect Timing.  With the economy the way it is, people are looking for ways to save, make money and become better prepared. Outside of that, they're looking for ways to be healthy and efficient with their time.

How often does a ground floor opportunity

like this come along?

I'm so mad at myself for not taking a picture of us, but after the conference Jason took a few of us out to dinner and we discussed some exciting new things that are coming out this year, but I'm sworn to secrecy. :)  I will tell you that we New Mexicans are really pushing that Shelf Reliance carry GREEN CHILI!   Wouldn't that be awesome to have freeze dried Green Chili?  We had such a great time chatting with everyone.  My mind has seriously not stopped thinking about what we discussed. 

I have to say thanks to my sweet husband for watching the kids while I played.  Cameron kept asking me Sat. morning, "Mom, are you leaving yet?  Why haven't you left yet?"  because he knows that when I leave it's FUN TIME with dad!  So, I'm happy that they don't miss me too much. :)

Christmas 2010

The Winter in New Mexico was pleasantly warm this year unlike last year.  It was so nice to be able to walk outside without a jacket.  Leading up to Christmas we celebrated Jesse's 36th birthday!  I got a cake from a restaurant here in town called "The Rendezvous" and the owner is a pastry chef.  He made this choc cake that was so rich and mouth watering with 2 giant strawberries dipped in choc. and a huge chunk of white choc in the side that spelled Happy Birthday Jesse written in more choc.  I'll try to get the pictures off of Jesse's phone. 

 The week before Christmas the kids and I drove to Hobbs to visit my sister and then make it down through Artesia to see more of my family.  It was a short trip, but we managed to squeeze in some football watching and a Christmas Show from Chad's Church.  I'm always glad to make the trip to see everyone. 

                                       Just about ready to camp out in our room for Christmas Eve.

                               Bella was soooo excited to get some Yo Gabba Gabba underwear
                    (it's such a dumb show, but she loves it)  She wore it like that at least until lunch time. :)

December was such a whirlwind of events that I really don't know where to start. I'll just jump to Christmas. It was quiet this year due to everyone being out of town except for Jesse's parents and I have to admit that I'm not used to having it so quiet. I guess I always picture Christmas with a house full of family and enjoying each other, but it was probably for the best since I came down with a horrible cold Christmas eve and spent most of Christmas afternoon just laying on the couch (I'm still fighting that cold).

My favorite thing that the kids (it was mostly for the girls though) was that we bought them two little bunnies. They were dwarf bunnies with just the cutest little faces and their fur is sooo soft. They're very sweet and let us hold them whenever we want. Cameron said that he never thought he'd love a little bunny so much. I was really surprised that Bella wasn't trying to hold them all the time, but she gave them their distance and I think Claire was the one who mothered them the most. I'd go outside and she'd be sitting in her chair in the clubhouse just singing to her little black and white bunny. Bandit sure took an interest in them, but didn't attack them which also surprised me. Here are some snap shots of the little cuties.



                 Here's Claire's little bunny.  It had blue eyes and I think she ended up calling it Cinna.

           Here's a little action shot of snowflake or snowball.  Don't know her name, but heard those.   She was the most adventurous, but still would let you hold her in your lap.

 You may be wondering why I'm speaking in past tense about our bunnies.  Well, I'm very sad to say that they both died.  I came outside last Sunday and saw the white bunny dead and just couldn't believe it!  I felt so bad because I thought it was my fault for forgetting to put them back in the Garage where it wasn't as cold.  Later I heard that baby bunnies who are together (which they were) can withstand temperatures as low as 10 degrees.  So, I didn't know what happened.  Then a few days later I went to check on Cinna's water and her and noticed that she wasn't a perky as she normally was and when I picked her up she had a seizure and only wanted to lay on her side.  I tried to feed her some water, but sadly she died in my arms that night.  It was soooo sad to watch her take her last breath. 

I've never watched anything die before.  I've also never felt so awful about losing a pet before.  Luckily Claire got to say goodbye to Cinna before she passed away and we said a little prayer for her.  It was sweet to watch Claire care for something so much.  Anyways, it turns out that the grass that these bunnies were playing in could've been the very thing that killed them.  We're thinking that they must have eaten some weeds that didn't set well.  It was fun while it lasted.  At first we thought we'd get some more bunnies, but maybe it isn't wise to have something so delicate. 

For New Years Connie and the kids came down from Utah and we all had a good time.  It's always nonstop cousin play/sleepovers and games.  We're all exhausted by the end of our visits, but try to make the most of them.  Anyhow, I'm always glad to start with a fresh new start after the new year.  This year our main focus is getting Jesses' practice up and running, keep up with the kids/house and their needs while trying to build my own Shelf Reliance business.  Jes and I are going to try to squeeze in a 10 yr anniversary trip for just the two of us. It should be another eventful year!  Happy New Year everyone!!