Cats...

As usual, things have been wild and crazy around here. We are always busy with something going on around here and don't slow down much. Right now, I am relaxing in my lounge chair with our little Angel sitting on my lap while I type this. It is soothing to sit and pet a cat and see her cute face. We were worried about her for a long time. She had stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. She was going into liver failure and the vet wasn't sure if she would survive. But, defying the odds was something she was determined to do. Now, she is on the mend and back to her feisty self. We are all breathing a sigh of relief. We love our cats a lot.

It has made me ponder a lot about how our pets become such important parts of our family and how important they are to us. We have not had too many animals over the years but the ones we have had have been important to us. I think of Kitty Kitty who was the first pet we had after we were married. Ken got him for me on my first Mother's Day after Deborah was born. We were living in Virginia and had gone out to dinner. That was a rare treat back then, but we enjoyed the evening with Deborah and as we were returning to the car, we noticed a pet store. We decided to go in and see the cats. Before we knew it, we were walking out with a cute little white kitten. Kitty Kitty endeared himself to us quickly and entertained Deborah all the time. She loved to love him and he loved to have her love him. When Deborah was tired or sad, Kitty Kitty was always there by her side to cheer her up and relax her. As Kenneth and Ian were born, Kitty Kitty loved and cared for them too. One of the biggest things that Kitty Kitty did was to let me know if the kids were awake from naps even before I heard them in the baby monitor. I always wondered how he knew, but he could and he would come tell me.

Kitty Kitty moved all over with us, from Virginia to Pennsylvania. Then, we moved four times in PA before moving to Texas. He moved with us to Texas and to all the places we lived here too. When we moved into this house, he had trouble locating the boys' room the first night. He had always slept in their room, so he knew he needed to find them. I showed him the room and from then on, he slept there every night. He spent his last night here on earth in their room too. We know it was a struggle for him to climb the stairs at that point, but he forced himself to do it and slept between the boys' beds. The memories of him will always be strong and we will continue to have a place for him in our hearts forever. We miss him every day. We thought we would never get another cat, but then we found Angel at a pet store and she was a rescue. Ian saw her first, and we knew we had to have her. Gizmo joined us a year later as a birthday present for Deborah. He was also a rescue cat. Now we have our psycho cat, Aly Cat who was a rescue as well. Right now, we are fostering her and trying to find her a new home. But, for now, she is as crazy as the rest of us in the Strain household.

I Feel Inspired

I was chatting on Facebook with an old friend from my Young Adult days and she inspired me to catch up and try to keep up on my blogging. I loved reading her blog and she is very diligent about it too. Her name is Jean Swilley Coombs and she lived in PA in 87 to 90. She came back from her mission to Sweden around the same time I came back from Texas. It was fun to chat and catch up with each other after all these years. So, now, I want to see if I can make up for a year of no blog. I will see if I can sum up the past year.

2008

September - My senior year of college
October - Halloween
November - Thanksgiving and Ian's Birthday

December - Finals, Christmas and New Year's Eve

2009

January - New Year's, Ken's Birthday, started final semester of college

February - My Birthday

March - Spring Break - Didn't go anywhere or do anything

April - Finals

May - Graduated from College with a degree in Communication/Public Relations

June - Kids finished school for the year, Deborah went to Young Women's Camp and Kenneth went to Boy Scout Camp

July - HOT, HOT and did I mention HOT?!!?! Couldn't do much of anything. Deborah and I went to Utah for Kristina's wedding.

August - HOT, HOT, HOT and did I mention HOT?!!?! Deborah's 17th Birthday and Kenneth's 14th Birthday

June, July, August, September - Looked for a job - Still looking

Now for some highlights. Christmas was fun. We didn't have any exchange students living with us or visiting this year so that was a real change. More quiet, but we still had fun. Had dinner at Ken's mom's house and that was fun as usual. All sorts of yummy foods and good company. It was nice to not think about school or work or anything but the holidays and enjoying the family. It still seems strange not having Karin around. It had been two years since she died so suddenly before Christmas. We always miss her presence and company during the holiday season.

In January we were back in the swing of school, homework, church activities and family time. Sadly, in January brought the bad news that my older brother Joey had died from liver failure. It broke my heart and I have had a lot of trouble dealing with it on many levels. When we were younger, he was always my greatest advocate in everything. He was very supportive of me joining the Church, serving a mission (he even came to my missionary farewell and brought David and Daniel) and standing up for what I believed in. We had not been in contact much over the years since Mom died, but I had called him on New Year's Day and we had a great conversation. We vowed to stay in touch more and talk more often on the phone. That was the last conversation I had with him and it was tough to think that I wouldn't see him again. He was even talking about coming out for my graduation. It would have been nice to show him around San Antonio.

Well, I did graduate from college and it was amazing. The Ken, the kids, Mom Strain and Amanda came to the ceremony. I was grinning from ear to ear and amazingly, I didn't cry. I was sure I was going to cry as I crossed the stage, but instead I just keep smiling. I hope this is a good example to the kids and they will desire to find a career path and get the education they need. It has been an amazing journey, but one I would take all over again if I could (that doesn't mean I will EVER go to graduate school, but who knows).

We did had a fun summer overall, but it was just so stinking hot this year. We had temps. in the triple digits for most of July and August and no rain. It was yucky. We stayed inside in the A/C. It was even too hot to go swimming most of the time. We would go in the evenings when the sun would start to go down after 9:00 PM. We also made a few trips to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and tried to stay cool. That is always a challenge. We stay in the water park most of the time and hang out on the lazy river or sit in the wave pool. The kids like to go on the water slides so I just wait for them to come back. Now that they are older, I can do that more and more. I also like to see the shows there so I see them while the kids ride rides. We meet up and stuff, but most of the time, they go off on their own. Ian still stays with me for the most part.

Kristina got married to a great guy named Jake Morrill and he is a terrific guy. Great for Kristina. He gives her a run for her money. They were married in the American Fork Temple and it was a great experience to be her assistant at the Temple. I felt a very strong spirit as they were sealed together and I knew that the decision they made to be sealed was to be a blessing for them. I don't have any pictures yet because I kept leaving my camera everywhere and didn't have it when we were at the wedding or reception. I used Kristina's camera for the most part, so I have to wait for her to send the pics to me.

School has now started again for the kids. Deborah is a Senior, Kenneth has entered high school and is in 9th grade and my baby Ian started middle school this year. I can't believe how fast they are growing up and away from me. They don't need me as much as they used to unless they are hungry or want a ride somewhere. I spend my days looking for work on the Internet and by networking. The job market is bad, but I suspect that the right job is out there waiting for me. and I know that I will find it soon. I need to work and I want to work. I will have trouble with not being around for the kids all the time, but they are getting older and can do so much on their own.

Well, since it's after 2 AM, I need to wrap this up and get some sleep for church in the morning. I will try to keep up better and let everyone know what is happening here. I hope it's not too boring.

Visit From Jeannetta and Family and ITC

This week has been a very busy week for us and it seems like it will continue to be busy. On Monday, Jeannetta came to visit from Holland with her mom, brother and sister. They came for dinner and we had a nice visit with her. We didn't tell Ian she was coming because we wanted to surprise him. He was very surprised. When he saw her, he dropped everything he had in his hands and gave her a big hug. He couldn't believe she was here. We enjoyed meeting her family too. We had a nice dinner together and everyone played some games on the Wii. Our visit was much too short, but she was going to be travelling around Texas with her family.

Today, we went to the Institute of Texan Cultures where Deborah and Kenneth have been volunteering all summer. Kenneth worked in the barn and told people all about life on a farm back in the 1800's. He did a great job. He sometimes helped in the fort by sneaking up behind a "soldier" in the fort and trying to attack him. That surprised visitors and it added a some realism to the presentations. Today was the last day for the season and I know they have enjoyed it. Since Deborah has been volunteering for so many years there, she is a supervisor and helps to be a tour guide. She started there when she was going into 7th grade. This year she will be going into 11th grade. It has been a great experience for her and I hope that Kenneth will continue to volunteer there and that Ian will want to in the future. I love going there and seeing all the cultures represented and they add new displays every year.

Summer goes on

The kids are all home now. No more camps for any of them. We haven't done anything exciting or gone anywhere this year. We went to the pool one day and want to do go to Fiesta Texas too. I feel like I don't have too much to do and I have decided that I don't like that at all. I would rather be busy and not sitting around as much. I miss taking classes and have been working on my resume for finding a job next summer. That has kept me busy.

We have been seeing the babies, Olivia and Joshua a lot and that has been fun too. They are so cute but can exhaust me. I love being around them and listening to all their little stories. They love being around Deborah, Kenneth and Ian too. Oh, and everyone gets a kick out of the fact that little Joshua calls me Aunt Grandma. We aren't sure why, but he has decided that's my name. Makes me feel OLD! He can call me that. He's just too cute. We are all going to go swimming tomorrow so that will be fun. Olivia wants to be a mermaid like "The Little Mermaid" and looks so cute when she pretends to be her. She also loves Prince Eric from the movie and says that Joshua is Prince Eric. The best part about having these two cuties around is that I can spoil them, love them, hug them and send them home again. It's great being an Aunt, even if I am called Aunt Grandma.

Summer

I cannot believe it's already July. The summer goes by too fast. I will be entering my senior year at university and I will have to find a job by next summer. Unbelievable. It has only taken me 6 years, but I will do it.

Kenneth is away at Boy Scout Camp and I am guessing that he is having a blast. He loves being involved in Boy Scouts. It means a lot to him. Deborah hangs out with Cody and helps at home. Poor Ian is lonely because his best friend is on vacation until the end of the month. He has so much energy and I can't figure out how to channel it. We have been going shopping and to the pool too. I want to go to Fiesta Texas, but I hate going alone without another adult. I want to have some adult conversation while I am there. Ken is on vacation this week and I am trying to get him to go with us today. We'll see. Other than that, nothing exciting going on. Here is a newer picture of the kids. We took this at the airport right before Igor left. I need to take more pictures of them.

Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift

Got to see Rascal Flatts in concert last week and it was AMAZING!! I went with Deborah and we had second row center seats. They put on a great show. Taylor Swift was the opening act and she was fabulous too. This is really the only concert I go to anymore, but I always look forward to it. It's also nice to be with Deborah and just spend time together. She is growing up and moving on and this is a great thing we enjoy doing. It's hard to believe that she will be a junior this year in high school. She turns 16 in August. How did I ever get old enough to have a 16 year old daughter? Where has the time gone? It is fun to do things with her sometimes and have great conversations. She thinks I am crazy as I stand and scream for Rascal Flatts, but she never knew me in my Osmond concert days. I am mild compared to that. I still lost my voice the next day, but, it was worth it. So much fun and a great time to let the worries of the world slip away for a couple of hours and enjoy real talent. I know a lot of you don't like Rascal Flatts, but I love the uniqueness of the voice of the lead singer, Gary LeVox. It amazes me and I enjoy listening to him sing. And Taylor Swift...talk about talent. She wrote hit songs when she was only in 9th grade. Wow!! That is talent.

Igor left yesterday

The house is always different when our exchange student goes home. Everyone misses Igor so much and we cried a lot when we said goodbye at the airport. He didn't start packing until Wednesday night but he seemed to have the least stuff to take back from any of our exchange students. He just needed one more small bag besides the one he brought with him. Time just went by so quickly. Ian and Kenneth miss him the most. They loved to mess around and do things with Igor. They would play video games, wrestle, play basketball, go swimming and go on bike rides all the time. I keep thinking Igor is still here and have been looking for him.

Deborah started Youth Conference at church yesterday too. She doesn't seem to be having a very good time. They come home between activities so I have seen her a lot. I wish I would be able to help her understand how great she is and that she can have a lot of friends. She is still insecure in a lot of ways, but is so mature for her age too. She feels more comfortable directing people on what to do instead of participating in the activities. That is a lot like me. But, I love her so much and she is a great girl. She has so much potential. I worry about her every moment of everyday. I pray that the morals I have taught her will remain strong and her desire to make the right choices for her future.

Krissy was visiting

Ken's sister, Krissy was here to visit for a few days from North Carolina and it was fun to see her. She's a great person and the kids love Aunt Krissy. Last 4th of July, we went to see them in North Carolina and had a great time. The kids played at a nearby lake and were fishing with Uncle David. They also got to go tubing from the back of the boat. That was so funny to watch them. Some fell off. Some got water in their faces and couldn't stop laughing. Ken tried too and he fell over. I missed seeing that. In the evening, we had a great barbecue and David got fireworks. We sat outside in their driveway for hours while David was shooting them off with his friend. He let the boys try to set some off too. They loved that. I wish they lived closer to us so we could see them more. The kids enjoy them a lot.

But, we did have fun while she was here. We went to Ken's Mom's house for dinner last night and we played this game called "Catch Phrase." We had a blast. The kids knew a lot of the answers but I smoked everyone and got the most right. I never win so it was nice to actually win for a change :) Seeing everyone is so nice. Even though we live close, we don't see each other as often as I wish we could. I love sitting around talking with Ken's Mom and Dad, Krissy, Barry, Kraig, Amanda and of course Ken.


That is what I miss the most about my parents. We all loved just sitting around the table talking and laughing. There are some really fond memories of us all sitting around the table on a Saturday afternoon when the older siblings would come to visit with their kids. We would laugh and talk for hours. Those days are gone and I hope that our dinner table time will be something my kids will always cherish. I hope I am making good memories for them to hold onto as they get older. I can't believe how fast time goes by and how quickly the children grow. I miss the baby days a lot and want to go back to those times some days; especially when they are talking back or fighting.
Look at those cute little faces...I miss that sometimes. They are all so wonderful and adorable still but I do miss the days when they were so little. This is on Ian's 1st birthday so Kenneth was 3 and Deborah was 6. Seems like such a long time ago.

School is almost over

The kids will be home for the summer. We are trying to find a lot of things to do and keep busy. Kenneth and Deborah will be volunteering at the Institute of Texan Cultures in their youth program. This is Deborah's 5th year and Kenneth's 1st year. They work in an area of the museum that has a mini pioneer village and Kenneth will dress in costume of the period. They act as tour guides and explain things to the visitors. Deborah will be a supervisor and be in charge of all the tour guides.

All of the kids have different camps too this year. Deborah goes to Young Women's Camp next week, Kenneth goes to Boy Scout Camp the end of June and Ian goes to Cub Scout day camp in July. They like these activities and it should be a lot of fun for them. It will keep them from being bored and picking on each other.

I plan on trying to take it easy a little bit and enjoy this summer. It may be my last summer off since I will be graduating in May of next year from College. That is something I still can't believe. I have to work hard the last two semesters, but I am looking forward to it. The exchange students are all going home and I will be done with AYUSA at the end of June. It will be hard to not have the exchange students around anymore, but I know it's the right thing to do. This student in the picture with Ian is Kanar. She is from Iraq and has really been great to Ian. He has learned a lot from her and loves to spend time with her. She will be missed and we will always worry about her.

Ken will be busy with work and he may take a few business trips too. Other than that, there is nothing going on here. Will post more interesting things next time.

Fiesta Texas

Yesterday, I took Kenneth and Ian to Fiesta Texas. It is less than 5 miles from our house and we have season passes so we can go when we want to go. It's a lot of fun. Kenneth took a couple of friends and they went off on their own. I kept Ian and we just had a real blast. I watched him play in the water and swim around at the water park. We spent some time in the lazy river, which is a place that you sit in tubes and float around in the water. It's really relaxing. We played and played and played. I watched him swimming around and I just couldn't help but think that our times like that would be fewer and fewer as he is growing up so fast. The baby years flew by for all of my kids and sometimes I wish I could turn back the hands of time and go back to those simple days. Deborah will turn 16 in August and Kenneth will be 13. Where has the time gone? I cry to think they will be out of the house before I know it and I will miss the noise and laughter. I am trying to hold onto every little memory and think of the moments that pass so quickly. I hope I am making great memories for the kids too. I hope they won't look back and think what a terrible mother I was and how I yelled at them to clean up their messes. I hope they will remember days like yesterday or times when we would all play Wii Sports together and Mom would get so involved in the game. Or our many road trips to the west and to the east. They were some fun times too.
I have been thinking about my own youth more and more too. I have so many great memories because of my parents and I am grateful to them. I miss them every day and I want to have them back with me. It seems impossible to think that Mom has been gone for 5 years and it has been almost 6 months since Dad died. I miss the days of hanging out down at Cape May with them and just talking. They are great memories.

Exchange Students

Today the exchange students did their presentations. I had Igor from Kyrgyzstan, who is our student living with us this year, Kanar from Iraq and Sam from Turkmenistan. It hit me hard that they will all be going home soon. I started to cry when I watched Igor with the little kids and saw how much he has grown and matured. He is like my own child. It's hard for people to understand if they have never had exchange students in their homes. I am so proud of his accomplishments and all that he has done while he was here. I can't help but cry when I think about his departure in June. It's like they take a little piece of me with them when they return to their countries. I have gotten close to Kanar too and she is a great girl. I worry about her future in her country although she lives pretty far away from most of the fighting. She has great potential in her future and I see that she can do many things. I have just gotten to know Sam and he is a funny kid. He has made some mistakes while here and didn't follow all the rules, but he said it has been a huge growing experience for him and he thinks he will always be a better person because of it. I wish I could just keep up with the kids when they go home, but I can't keep track of all of them.
At home, things are just going the same. The kids seem to be feeling better and everyone went to school today. Kenneth has his energy back and Ian is running around as usual. He is actually at a birthday party for one of his friends from school right now and I have to go get him soon. It is a party for a girl named Daniella and he his the only boy there. He gets invited to all the girls' parties. It cracks me up. He is only 10 and in 4thgrade yet he already has the girls chasing after him. I worry so much about the teenage years. I will have to keep close watch over him.

Another Day in Paradise

That is what I have to say right now. All of the kids have been sick to various degrees over the past few weeks and it's been hard to have everyone healthy. Deborah was sick with a sore throat and cough. Ian got the same thing, but he had a fever. Igor was next with a sore throat and headache. Then, Kenneth got a sore throat, headache and fever. None had strep and none had it at the same time. I actually thought I was going to enjoy some quiet around the house before they were finished school on the 4th of June, but I must have been wrong. I think all of the kids will go to school tomorrow but Ken is going to work late so he will be home until about 12:00. I suppose I won't get too much time alone.
I have to take some exchange students to an elementary school to do presentations in the morning. It will be one of my last official projects with AYUSA. I have been with them off and on since 1999. I will miss it in many ways, but the stress will be gone and I can focus on school. It's bittersweet. The exchange students have influenced and touched our lives in so many ways. We have learned about the world around us and the desire that we all have to have peace in the world. The kids fall in love with the students and feel like they have brothers and sisters all over the world. I don't think we will be hosting again next year. I know the kids want to but we have been so busy this year, we just need some time with the family. I think it will be a real change for us, but we need that change.
Well, that is all for now. I will keep this up and hope you are not too bored.

Trying again...

Well, here we go again. I am just going to keep this updated as much as possible and letting everyone see what we are doing. I don't want to bore everyone, but it's a nice way to keep up with everything.
School is over for me for the semester and I am officially a senior. I can't believe that I only have one year left to graduate. I finally passed the remedial math class after trying 3 times. I actually got an A!!! I was in shock. I just have to take one more math class and a few more communication classes and an accounting class too. It has taken me over 35 years to get to this point, but I know it's the right thing for me to do. The kids finish school on the 4th of June. We just plan to have a lot of good summer days relaxing by the neighborhood pool and going to Fiesta Texas. It will be another hot summer.
We have been hoping to go to Pennsylvania again this summer, but we aren't sure because of the price of gas. We will work on getting some painting done in the house though. The kids like to help do that. So, we will just try to relax and take it easy for the most part.

Bethann died 3 years ago today

I am just sitting here thinking about Bethann and how much I love and miss her. I can't believe it has been 3 years already since she died. We were on our way home from Utah when we received the call. My heart was breaking. It's still breaking my heart. I find it hard to believe that I can't just call her on the phone anymore and tell her everything that is going on here. She was a good big sister even though sometimes we would fight when we were growing up. Here is a picture of her when she was in elementary school.

I remember when we were younger, I thought she was so grown up. We all shared a room, Patty, Julie, Bethann and I. Bethann and Julie shared a bed and Patty and I shared a bed. I was scared of thunder and of the sound of fire whistles. When it would thunder, I would run to Bethann and Julie's bed and try to get close to Bethann to take care of me and protect me. She always acted annoyed at first, but I could tell she really was glad to be able to take care of me. The fire whistles scared me because I thought that the whistle meant that my house was on fire. I know it's silly now, but it was the thought process of a little girl. Bethann protected me then and told me that it would be ok and our house was not on fire. It was always very comforting for me. She was a good big sister and I miss her so much.

I just wish I could turn back the hands of time and go back to the days when I was still young and carefree. It's hard to realize that I am a grown woman with children of my own sometimes. I still sometimes feel like I am playing house and pretending to be a mom and wife. It's just strange. I dreamed of this as a little girl and now, here I am. I am grown up and I have my family and my life.

Keeping this up...

I have been going at a hundred miles an hour for the last few months and I really need to slow down a bit. The kids are good, school is good, and my job...well, that is good too. The kids finish school the end of May. In the summer, we hope we will be able to go to Pennsylvania to see my family again. It has been 6 years. My school will be done in a couple of weeks and I am ready for a little break although I do miss school when I am not taking classes. I won't take any in the summer. The exchange students have been great. It has been a great year working with them as the FLEX cluster leader and I just feel so sad to see them all making plans to go back to their own countries. I can't believe the school year is ending for them. It's always hard to see them off at the airport. Seems like they just arrived. But, I can't change that part of the experience. I enjoy the kids so much and it seems that I keep coming back to be with these students year after year.

Blogging for me...

This is a new experience for me and one I hope I will stick with for awhile. I have always loved to keep a journal so this will just be a public journal with random thoughts and feelings shared here. There are so many things I want to say and lots of thoughts to share. I hope that everyone will not be too bored with what I have to say.