February Feelings and Family

I love getting caught up with people's blogs and lives. As one observant friend made the comment, I do like to keep in touch with almost everyone I ever meet! (on blogs, facebook, emails, cards, and phone). It can be exhausting at times, but I LOVE people: for what greater gift is there than this... to be surrounded by those who love you and you love in return. I love friendships. I love the month of February that reminds me of how much love I have for everyone and everything. I am truly blessed beyond measure and I love that I can catch up on other people's lives that I hold dear to my heart in special ways and see their blessings, which in turn continue to remind me of mine.

I have so many thoughts trapsing through my little head that I want to post about: my kids, the love of my life, friends, family, memories, passions, feelings...

But I will have to do one at a time.

So today... I want to post about my family for a minute. I come from a rather large family: 6 boys and 3 girls. There was never a dull moment around the house and someone always there whether you liked it or not. I am the 6th out of nine, the middle girl. I love each of my brothers and sisters, and my parents for having all of us. I was reading some of my journals last night I kept as a teenager and I was impressed with how much I actually wrote about friends and family. It is definitely a blessing to read after all these years.

My mother just sent an email out for an early Valentine's message and talked about how when I was born, she had a breakdown one night after putting me to bed... after putting the other 5 crazies to bed, all under the age of 6! I am still in awe how she did everything. My dad worked alot and so she did everything on the homefront, trying to keep it all together and stable. Anyway, she poured her heart and soul out in prayer because she was immensely overwhelmed and was wondering why she wanted SO many kids (she wanted a dozen to begin with but because of health reasons, had to stop at 9!) She prayed for help to be a good mother and received an overwhelming feeling of peace and heard the Holy Ghost say to her that the Lord was aware of her and all her needs and that she was entrusted with all of us and wouldn't be given anything she couldn't handle. I know it had to be a hard job. And I know that same prayer myself! And even though I did know, her email reminded me that it was only with the help of the Lord she was able to accomplish this. And is that not how we all can do everything and anything? Without His help, we are literally helpless creatures.

My mother, despite normal chaos in a large family, was a great mother. I get my nonstop energy, my social butterfly-ness who knows no strangers, compassionate heart, beach loving, vacation taking, and taking pride in decorating my home from her. When I am decorating my home (which we finally got done this past 2 weeks after living here for almost 5 months. I love moving into new homes because it is a new canvas to start from!), I think of my mother staying up to all hours of the night so she could finish creating her masterpieces on her wall in an arrangement that she was pleased with. Then she would admire her work and beauty for hours and days. I do not think of myself as a creative person to say the least, but I do have that talent from her and find myself doing the very same thing and then remembering her. I am also often reminded of her when I am constantly looking for people to help. She has a caring heart and a desire to please the Lord and give service and charity to those around her.

Having said that, and after reading a challenge written on a dear friend's blog, I want to say that I too am a good mother. The challenge was to give yourself permission to post on your blog that you are a good mother (and I encourage all to do so, as well). We fill our heads with so much of what we haven't done, what we can't do, what we did wrong... that we don't give ourselves permission to pat ourselves on the back ever. I used to be like this more years ago when I felt those feelings of inadequacy, often because of my overwhelming sense of being a perfectionist. But as years have gone by, and my 3 boys are growing up, and braving a few storms and disasters personally, I have actually thought in the last few months, "I AM doing a good job." I throw less fits than before over "spilled milk", yell at my children less, don't give into the debilitating power that makes me OCD about cleanliness (and actually have laughed about it several times when the house has been messy and my husband has asked me "what happened to you"? But it has been rather liberating at times, even if it was at the cost of my family's "comfort" and what they were use to!), embrace my children's and mine and my husband's differences... so I see a HUGE sense of accomplishment over the years. Does that mean I never do those things anymore? No. But I am learning and have learned and am very proud of the mother I have become and continue to improve on. So thank you Tisha for your inspirational thoughts and words, and thank you Brandon, Javan, Bralen, and Theron for continuing to teach me everyday how to be a better mother and LOVE LIFE (as my motto is). For without ya'll... I would not be a mother, and especially not close to being a good mother and I know that I still have a long ways to go until I am a great mother.


And you thought this post would end without pictures! Ha-Ha... not from me!


Here is a picture of my whole family at my youngest brother Richard's wedding on August 31, 2007 (minus my younger brother Jeremy who was in the Navy)...

and at my second oldest brother Stephen's wedding the day after, September 1, 2007.

And I was blessed to see every single one of my siblings last year, 2009 at different times, except again, Jeremy who is in the Navy. I will post pics of each of them (some of these I have already posted), but some siblings have not made it on the blog yet due to lack of time. And Jeremy was able to visit me with his wife and 3 adorable kids last Tuesday on their move back to Arizona from Connecticut. He gets out of the Navy in June and so his wife and kids are going to get their house ready in Buckeye, AZ while he finishes up his commitment. It was so fun to have them here, even if it was for one night.

Jeff is the oldest at age 39 now and has one daughter, Trinity with his girl Niki. They live in Washington, DC

(Chattanooga, TN: December 2009)

Jenny is 37 and lives in Casa Grande, AZ...

(Hawaii: April 2009)

and has one son Ian with husband Sean (I didn't have a pic of Sean)
(Richard's Wedding in Utah: August 2007)

Pictured here is Stephen - 36, Philip - 35, Robbie - 34, Me - 32 (Philip's house: December 2009)

Stephen and his wife Kris, with a baby on the way, live in New York (Salt Lake City, UT: September 2007)

Philip, his wife Krystal, and their son Henry...
(Philip's house: December 2009)

and they live in Monroe, LA
(Philip's house: December 2009)

Robbie lives in Monroe, LA and is single ladies...

(Provo, UT: September 2007)

Sheridan is 30...
(Salt Lake Temple: June 2009)

and has two boys Joseph and Zachary with husband Scott. They live in Woods Cross, UT
(Richard's house: June 2009)

Jeremy is 28...
(My house in El Paso, TX: February 2010)

and has three kids Matthew, Corrine, and Nora with wife Carrie and will be now living in Buckeye, AZ. Notice Corrine and Theron suck the same fingers! They are related!
(El Paso, TX: February 2010)

(Bralen and Matthew)

( Nora and Theron: kissing cousins!)

and Richard who is 26 and the baby of the family...
(Grandma's house in SLC, UT: June 2009)

who is married to Mandi...
(Richard's house: June 2009)

and they have two babies, Winston and Lex, and live in Murray, Utah.

(Rich's house: June 2009)

And that completes my family. I miss all my brothers and sisters and wish that we were all closer in every sense of the word. But some have different lives and feelings and priorities. But nonetheless, I LOVE them all and my parents who bore us.

Going back in time... (Part V and last one!)

Since it is snowing here in El Paso right now, it finally got me in the mood to do my last post from our Christmas vacation trip. So many pictures have been shown and yes... there are a few more! I can't leave anyone or anything out! So enjoy the last post!



Going back a little more in time...


When Brandon was hired by Brian to work for Shaw Industries, one of the world's largest carpet manufacturers, he was hired to create a program to help the hourly employees. He named his program REACH: Reaching Employees to Achieve Company Heights. He created everything about this program down to the logo and name itself.


His job was to find those employees who worked in the plants, who had potential to move up in the company. He would spend a few weeks selecting a certain number of them by interviewing and referrals, and then he would start his 6 week course which gave them the skills to become great leaders. He completed about 4 classes that "graduated", who then later went on to become supervisors, trainers, etc. He LOVED this job... but more importantly, the people LOVED him and he made many friends. A couple of those lifetime friends are Besim Mahmutovic and Nijaz (Nick) Skrgic and his wonderful family. They are all from Bosnia. We got to meet up with them the day before we headed out of Georgia, Saturday, December 26th.

Javan and their oldest son Evan... they use to play together 3 years ago. They both have grown so much!

Theron and his new buddy Dylan! He is such a doll!

The boys hanging out and catching up. Nick had a friend of his come over and make this wonderful dish from Bosnia. Can't pronounce it or spell it, but trust me... all of it was delicious! Emira also out-did herself, as usual.

Emira and her two babies!

Nick and his family fell in love with Bralen a few years ago when he was a baby. They have missed him!

And Nick LOVES babies!!

It was so good to catch up! We love and miss ya'll!

Also pictured is Nick's sister Jazmin.

After we visited with friends, my oldest brother Jeff and his girlfriend Niki and their daughter Trinity met us in Chattanooga. It was freezing, but I suggested we ride the horse and buggy around downtown. When we lived in Flintstone, Georgia for almost 4 years, we lived only 7 miles from Chattanooga, TN. I begged Brandon to take me on a romantic date on the horse and buggy but... to no avail. So... I was going to get my horse and buggy ride one way or another and voila... I have pictures to prove it! It wasn't quite as romantic with kids... but it was still fun!

Thanks Jeff and Niki! It was a wonderful time!!!

After we froze in Chattanooga, we all headed back to Dalton to spend one last night with Brian. The cousins got to play a little longer and I don't think that Miss Trinity was use to so much testosterone! She is such a doll! I love her beautiful red hair!

Our last day of Georgia... Sunday, December 27th. I didn't get any goodbye pics with Brian because we left in a hurry to get to our old ward on time and surprise everyone, but again... it was the perfect Christmas with Brian. We love that guy so much!!

We saw MANY wonderful old friends at our old ward and I had my camera but was going from one person to the next hugging and talking and so no time for pics! Lucky for all of ya'll, but sad for me! We are blessed to know so many wonderful people around this country. I think that is why we like moving so much! Besides the adventure... we love getting to know and love those around us.

I did manage to get just one pic at church... of Lexi Mitchell and the boys. Lexi is Javan's age and they used to be such good friends. She has grown alot since we saw her last too.

On our way out we stopped at two more places. One... our old house in Flintstone, GA. This is where Bralen was brought home to when he was born and where Javan remembers "growing" up from ages 2-6! We ALL did lots of growing in this house... the good and the bad. But it is yet another memory in our wild adventures through life...

The last stop was at our other dear friend's house... Jonathan and Wendy Poon. As I mentioned in a previous post, I grew up with Wendy in Monroe, Louisiana. We went through the fad of New Kids on the Block together with our friend Tisha, and have many wonderful memories of "performing" NKOTB songs for all the girl's at Girl's Camp in our cabins, many fun slumber parties that ended up in shaving cream fights, etc... I can't give away all our secrets! When we moved to Georgia, we stayed with Jonathan and Wendy for 3 months until we bought the house above. I was pregnant with Bralen and was SOOOO sick as usual. So no offense, but I don't have fond memories of Jonathan's cooking because the smells made me puke all the time. He is from Hong Kong... so enough said (Just kidding Jonathan!). So this trip, I let him redeem himself and he decided to make good ol' American hotdogs and hamburgers! He's such a Hoot!

We all spent many a meals here together!

Victoria... another one who had grown so much! She is a beauty!

And their newest addition... Brayden.

Thank you Poons! We miss and love ya'll too!

And the Grand Finale..... Drum Roll please.... the last pictures of the Claridge Christmas with the Cooksey's 2009... Brandon Claridge heading to the University of Georgia vs Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, Louisiana with Brian Cooksey himself on Monday, December 28th. Whewww! And to make a wonderful trip even wonderful(er)... Georgia won! Go Dawgs!

Going back in time... (Part IV)

Going back a little in time...

Brandon and I first met Mr. and Mrs. Cooksey on a weekend around 2006?? (I am not sure of when it was.) Brandon and Brian worked together (Brian was Brandon's boss), and once a year Brian and his employees would go on a "charge up" where they could go spend a few days playing and decompressing from everyday work. They would set goals for the next year, etc... At the charge ups, they each would pick names to spotlight the other person. Well, this particular year, all the employees decided to spotlight Brian. Thus, Brandon had the opportunity to find some dirt on Brian and some pictures to go with it! That is where The Cooksey's came into play. Brandon found their phone number and address and we headed over one weekend so Brandon could get the ammo he needed. We instantly fell in love with this wonderful couple. They were kind, loved our kids right off, and loved the idea of showing their one son off to whomever would listen. They have always been very proud of Brian and their daughter Amy as well, and you can see it in the way their house is and the way they talk about them. We have kept in touch over the years and I think Brandon saw them another time on a visit to GA for work from AZ, but I haven't seen them since this time until...

without further adieu...Welcome to the Cooksey's for Christmas where there is heavenly food, great fun, and lots of love to go around!




Meet Susan and Gene...


Susan is the wonderful mastermind behind all the great food and desserts we had, along with some little helpers... (notice I was not present in the picture!)

Christmas Eve started off with lots of yummy food and getting to know each other. This is Brian's niece and nephew Katie and Matthew, and the kids couldn't have gotten along better.


followed up by a celebration of a VERY special lady's birthday...

Next up, was a tradition the Cooksey's do, which is to open up all the presents on Christmas Eve from each other and then Christmas Day presents are only from Santa. It is nothing we have ever done, but it was so fun to be a part of their traditions. Brian and his little elves helping to pass out the gifts...

Susan definitely scored with all the gifts! First her birthday ones a few pictures above, next all of her Christmas Eve ones. She taught her kids right... not to combine her birthday and Christmas!

These next pictures are of all the presents being opened. I have never seen SO many presents!! Even with growing up in a large family! It was so much fun!

Now... these next pictures just make me laugh. Because Brandon and Brian love to do funny things sometimes for gifts. Brian hates sweaters... and what do you think he got from me (by way of Brandon!) His face is priceless.

I do expect to get a Christmas Card next year of you wearing that Brian!

Next gag gift is an inside joke. They passed this really ugly picture to each other for a few Christmas's and I think it finally ended up at Goodwill or something. So Brandon tried his best to replace it this year, hence the picture.

Now this gift to Brandon from Brian was not a gag gift. It was an incredible painting of the American Flag with hidden pictures with messages painted throughout. It was amazing and so beautiful.

And I can count on my goofy hubby to give me gag gifts as well. Long story short... he got me 2 boxes of oatmeal for Mother's Day years ago. That was it. Nothing else. Wasn't sure what to say because I hate making people feel bad... so I just said thank you. Years later, I had to ask why. He said "because it was your favorite kind", which it wasn't, but hey... I have trained him now (to put a little more thought into things!). So my love wanted me to know that he loved me again! Too funny.

And then I received the I.O.U. gift that I have been wanting, that was on it's way but not there yet. He really did surprise me. Getting better all the time babe!

It was such a great night of some of us bonding for the first time, and others making friendships stronger. (And none of the girls could resist little Theron!)

All the kids snuggled in bed Christmas Eve...

Christmas Day: Brian is the most thoughtful person we have ever met. Seriously. He constantly goes above and beyond to get the most perfect gifts for those in his life. He bought all of us some stockings with our names on them... and I think he knows me too well! I LOVE anything with names on them (Bralen is just like me... we get giddy when we see our name on something!). Anyway, I had already brought stockings with us, so I told the kids that since there were two stockings... Santa would have to fill both of them! And boy did he! Santa rocks!

Christmas morning always brings the kids their favorite things in life... and BIG smiles to show for it!

Well... maybe not ALL smiles. Someone wasn't a very good boy this year!

This is one of many gifts Santa happened to bring me. He knows my favorite word!

And the reindeer were a little sloppy in their eating of their carrots! That was cool for the kids to see!

After all the hustle and bustle, our two favorite cooks were back at it in the kitchen for a wonderful Christmas breakfast.

While the rest of us played with our new toys...

Another inside joke: Brian's glorious Senior picture as posed below.

Along with the real deal. I think you look fabulous Brian! You too Amy!

It was another sister in the making this trip. I feel like we have known each other forever! Love you Amy!

Christmas at the Cookseys: It really couldn't have been the more perfect Christmas Brandon and I have had since we were married. The Cooksey's are the epitome of family and the love they have for one another and for letting us into their home, their traditions, and their lives was something Brandon and I will never forget. Thank you for everlasting memories. We love ya'll!

Ya'll come back now hear! One last Christmas post to tie up the trip coming soon...

Going back in time... (Part III)

Wednesday, 12/23, we got ready and checked out of the hotel that morning. We headed to The Bass Pro Shop to go look at all the fun stuff they have there. It is a boy's paradise, but I find it very interesting too. It was like going back in time for me because I remember going to one in Missouri when I was about 12 years old, when I was on a trip with my two sisters to visit my older sister's boyfriend's family. I remember it being so fun and alive in there and it was the same experience all over again, except with my boys. The boys had a blast shooting some guns (play guns of course), but Brandon hit every single target right on the first try! His army skills came in handy, even on our trip!

After leaving The Bass Pro Shop in Atlanta area, we headed to Dalton, Georgia, where Brian lives. Not only is it where Brian lives, it is Bulldog Country. I have mentioned before in a previous post, that Brian is an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan. And so by association... so are we. In 13 years, Brian has missed one game, away or home (the missed one was held in Hawaii). That is 168 games he has been to!!! I think the only thing Brian does NOT have of Georgia Bulldogs is UGA himself (the team's bulldog mascot). We love his enthusiam for football, especially Brandon, because he has someone to share the interest with. GO GEORGIA!!!

After we got to Brian's house, we headed down to the park with the kids. As you will see, Brandon exercised, Brian played with the kids, and I took pictures! We have been to this park a couple times in the past. It was all just like old times, as well as fun times being together again.

The boys loved trying to keep up with Brandon while he ran.

Even Theron... hey guys, wait for me!

I contributed too... notice the pink shoes.

Ahhhhh, the smell of sweat! But I love him anyway!

That night, I got to have my wonderful, much needed and long time waiting... Girls Night Out! I met up with a couple close friends from my old ward, as well as one of them being one of my best friends when I was growing up in Monroe (we were New Kids on the Block's biggest fans way back in time, along with another friend of ours Tisha). I also had one of my best friends from work there too. So it was fun for everyone to get to know each other and find out that they had a lot of things in common as well! We laughed and talked and laughed some more. We couldn't get enough, so three of us ended up going to Walmart to finish our celebration of being back together again. We missed you Wendy! They are each beautiful women inside and out and I am grateful to have such good friends: Luanna Rodham, Wendy Poon, and Lisa Bishop. I already miss you girls!!!

You have to admire the beautiful background that Walmart provided!

Up next... Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with The Cooksey's!

Going back in time... (Part II)

We left for Georgia about 8 am Monday morning 12/21 and headed to Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta area. Monroe, LA was such a short visit, just the one day, but it was still refreshing to see and be with family/friends. Going through Atlanta was like going back in time again... seeing all the familiar sights and the beautiful southern scenery again. We got to the Evergreen Marriott Resort around 6pm and unwinded for a little bit. As you can see from the pictures below, the kids were wired and I think they started tiring Brian out pretty quick! Each one kept wanting to do flips on Brian and we finally had to intervene. We then ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and chilled in the connecting hotel rooms. Brian was brave that night and had both Javan and Bralen sleep in his king bed with him. They were so excited to see Brian and did not want to part from him for one bit!

Tuesday 12/22 when we woke up, the view from our room was absolutely serene. It is definitely different from the desert Southwest. I could live here!

We ate a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and headed to the Park. Javan, Bralen, and I had gone to Stone Mountain once before about 3-4 years ago with our great friends Cameron and Jenny Black, but didn't get to do everything there. So we spent the entire day doing everything we could fit in.

The first thing we did was The Summit Skyride, which took us to the top of Stone Mountain. The ride was a little scary for me (even though I went skydiving, I am still afraid of heights!), but it only lasted 2 minutes. Brandon didn't help pushing me against the window either! The view was breathtaking, seeing miles and miles of Atlanta and the surrounding area.

Interesting facts: Stone Mountain is made of granite and is said to be "the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". The part exposed is only a little bit compared to the 9 miles it extends below. Three figures of the Confederate States of America are carved into the mountain including Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis and the carving is 3 acres long!

Next up was the sing-along Christmas train.

Afterwards, we took the ultimate adventure and watched The Polar Express in 4D.

Then we braved The Great Barn. It had super slides, climbing structures and games. The kids (and the big kids) loved it. At night, it looked magical! The Christmas lights across the whole park was a sight to see!

A few other things we did were joined Mrs. Claus for storytime, watched the Character Christmas Parade and of course, the famous laser show they have over the carving on the mountain. The kids were begging to go back to the hotel by the end. It got very cold and they were exhausted, heck... we ALL were exhausted!

Thank you doesn't even begin to express to Brian the fun start to our Christmas week together. He is an amazing person who blesses other's lives continually, especially ours. We love you Brian!
As before mentioned, some of us had gone to Stone Mountain before with our wonderful friends Cameron and Jenny Black. They live only about 45 minutes from there so they came and met us for a couple hours that night and we ate pizza and caught up on life. It was just like the good ol' times spending time with them... we sure have alot of fun memories from previous years. Someone had a crush on Jenny... and the boys loved Cameron ruff-housing with them. And they actually brought another little person with them as well... but we will have to wait for a few months to meet him/her. We are SO excited for them and can't wait to meet the new addition! We Love You Cameron and Jenny and miss ya'll tons!!

Stay tuned for Parts III, IV, and V of our Christmas Adventures! Yes there is more!!! WE had waaaaayyyyy toooooooo much fun and lOtS of pIcTUrEs to show for it!

Happy 67th Birthday Dad!!

We love you and miss having you around soooooo much! Hope your day is special and that this is going to be your best year yet!

Our little birthday wish for you today is to sit back, relax, and enjoy this little slideshow we made for you! Oh... and don't burn Jeremy's house down with all the candles on your cake! Come visit soon!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

One Last Dedication...

To close this 2009 Year and enter a new one, even a New decade 2010, I wanted to leave one last dedication, a song that sums up what I wish for this New Year. I absolutely LOVE Andrea Bocelli's voice and to partner up with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, well... "Heavenly" indeed.



May we all have a Blessed New Year and do the things we have always wanted to but have put off, become closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, be recommitted to our families, and become overall better people ourselves. God Bless.