It's time
So it's been a long time since I sent out an update - aka. posted on our website. Quite honestly I've been avoiding it because I didn't want to write about the 'big' thing that happened - the passing of my grandmother. And it's not because I'm not doing ok with it, I really am. It's not because I am avoiding any grief, I'm really doing fine. I think mostly it was because I was just tired of being sad. The months leading up were sad and tiring for all of us. The family as a whole is still recovering, and I think it's going to be very difficult for some of then when they realize that the family dynamics have now changed drastically and it will be hard for them to accept that it's never going to be the same again. She was the glue.

My mom, of course, is struggling. She lost her mom, how could she not be having a hard time! She has her good days and bad, but she's doing well. I'm really glad she has her job to get her out of the house everyday.

For me, the hardest part was before she passed, when the cancer took her eyesight. When she could no longer be who she was at the core of her being: a servant and giver to her family. She spent her entire life caring for and giving to her family. The hot meals in our tummy, the blankets that warmed us, the birthday cakes to celebrate, the knowledge we learned - that was her sole purpose and joy in life. Crocheting was the last thing she had that made her feel purposeful, and the cancer took it. I think the one thing that gave her solace was the fact that her legacy could live on, that at least one of her grandkids was going to keep it up. And that grandkid is me. I have her last projects at home and have been slowly plugging away at them, to finish them. And when I'm done, I'll start another.

She and I weren't as close as I was to my grandfather. He was the only father I ever had. But my grandmother and I, we are so alike. We both love to create things. We both love to do for people. It give us purpose, makes a part of the lives we touch. So in all the cakes and desserts and meals and blankets I make - she'll be there. For that reason, my grieving time happened long before she passed because I understood how hard it was for her and it was even harder to watch that strong woman breakdown. When the phone call came that night that she had passed I was relieved, but not for me, for her. Her pain was over and she moved on to her new job. Watching over us.

I only cry now when I think about her in heaven with my grandfather, together, happy. And telling him about what the family has been doing, how proud of us she is. Then I cry, but not with sadness, but with joy and maybe a tinge of jealousy. I'd love to give my grandfather another hug, but I'm sure she gave him one for me. :)

Thank you MaMa!

Mildred Louise Norris
June 17, 1924 ~ May 8, 2008


Now onto the other stuff we've been up to...

In May, Tom's cousin Dave graduated from the Wharton School of Business. Wharton is in Philadelphia and that was just too close for us to no attend, plus it was right after the funeral and Tom and I needed the break. And then God turned around and blessed us with a free hotel stay at a very swanky hotel right in downtown Philly. It was amazing! The weekend was great! We got to spend some great time with Dave, Jeff, Aunt Cheryl, and Uncle Bill.

My cousin Ashley had her baby the weekend we were in Philly. She's the first Great-great grandchild in the family. Jaylah Coryn, and she beautiful! I made her baby shower cake back in April. And speaking of cakes, I've made some new ones recently - go take a look.



Everything with the house is great. The last things we need to do are: replace the linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms and then after that paint the bathrooms and front bedroom. We planted pumpkins again this year and they are growing along. I do however need to stop by Lowes (the hardware store) this weekend and get some mulch to put around the plant base and under the vines.

We've been hosting gaming nights at our house with some of our other friends that play World of Warcraft with us. We eat dinner together and then all setup in the basement with our computers and play into the night. It's totally geeky and totally fun! Plus I get to try new recipes on them!

Last weekend we drove down to Richmond, VA with our friends the Chase's (Scott & Jess) to see Jeff Dunham. For those that don't know, he is an amazing and amazingly funny ventriloquist. His jokes definitely aren't politically correct and are meant to get a rise out of people.... so if you aren't easily offended by jokes, I recommend you check him out. Just got to YouTube.com and look for Achmed the Dead Terrorist :) He, Peanut, and Walter are our favorite characters.

Cucumber is doing good. Her fur is still growing in from her surgery last November. But she's really enjoying the house, the space to run, and the windows! And yes, I'm showing more pictures of the cat! She's our kid, how could I not!


Tom is doing really well. His project / start-up company is doing good. The part of his idea that's never been done before and he had to develop himself is finished and works like a charm! *cheers* I am SO proud of him. He still has a few more months of work before he's ready to take a prototype to a school to try out, but isn't it just fantastic!?!?!!

We have also figured out how to make it rain. Yup! No more drought here!. Simply have a jeep wrangler, take off your hard-top, put on a jeep bikini top (click link for picture of what one looks like), and watch the rain come! It's been quite amusing and Tom's gotten drenched a few times, but he loves it!

Well, thanks for reading. I know it's been long :)

Jen's Grandmother
The past few weeks have been rough for our household. Right before Christmas my grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For those not familiar with this cancer, it's the most physically painful one you can get and there is no cure. Especially for an 84 year old with heart problems. We are now nearing the end. Honestly, I'm happy for her, happy that her pain will soon be at an end. The hard part is watching her suffer and deteriorate. She's not only been talking about my grandfather and saying that she sees him, but she's been asking for her mother too. Unfortunately this week she is at the point where she can no longer speak or care for herself at all. We are just praying that the end will come quickly without pain and suffering.

Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers. The stress is putting everyone on edge and there have already been quite a few arguments and misunderstandings.


Our New Toy
On a happier note, Tom and I did make a change in our household last week. After much discussion we decided two things: We need a bigger vehicle and we should trade in the hybrid. In a few years we were looking a having to put out a significant amount of money to replace the battery unit, so now was a good time to trade it in. Yes we loved the gas mileage we were getting, but that did not outweigh the cost of repairs. So we started looking around. Checked out a few options, consumer reports, test drives, and settled on the Honda CR-V. Amazingly the dealer was able to give us a better deal on a brand new one versus a used one. So we are now the proud owners of a brand new 2008 Honda CR-V. Tom's even surprised at how much he likes it, not as much as the Jeep, but close :)

Cucumber has already learned to recognize the new car and is greeting me at the window when I get home from work.

But the story doesn't end there. Four days after we bought it, I went out to lunch with my team at work. While eating, a woman pulled into the spot next to me and hit our PARKED! brand new car. Thankfully they were good people and left their name and number so their insurance company will be paying to repair it.


Not just pictures anymore... Videos!
For those that have explored our Flickr photos when clicking on one of the links, you will be excited to hear that flickr now allows you to upload videos! So with the Flip Video Camera that Mom & Dad (aka, Nancy & Denny) got us for Christmas, you will be able to see our videos there as well. :) There's two loaded now, one of Cucumber and one of my cousin Conner (believe it or not, he's only 9 months old and huge! They are projecting he'll be way over 6 feet tall). We'll continue to take more videos, although we are both camera shy so few will contain us, but we'll post them as we go.

So that's the latest and greatest with us! Until next month!

Life has been good and busy here in Maryland. Last time I sent out an update (two months ago, opps) we had just emptied the apartment and had everything into the new place. Well, obviously, a lot has happened since then.
    * After seven weeks, the new couch we bought and chair that my mom got us *finally* came in.
    * Tom built a shelf in the laundry room to put his 5 test computers on! Yes, that is 5!! but they are no longer in the middle of the floor of the basement, so I'm happy :) My one request for the laundry/server room was to still be able to hang clothes to dry. A dowel rod fixed that!
    * We got all the clothes reorganized since not all our bedroom furniture fit in our new bedroom. A hanging compartment in the closet helped with that.
    * And after shifting things here, and then there, we finally figured out where stuff is going to be (for now!) and hung stuff on the walls in the living/dining area.
    * We've met our neighbors on both sides and they are both nice families. One actually works for the same company I do.

So, given the fact that I just haven't had a chance to take pictures of the entire house yet, I figured I would give you all a glimpse into our townhouse with the pictures that I *have* taken. Something is better than nothing, right? The ones below are of our living room. For more pictures Click Here.




On the non-house side of things:
    * I went with two of my girlfriends to see Bon Jovi in concert at the Verizon Center. It was a blast.
    * Our friend (that Jen has known forever!) that we would go to visit in South Carolina moved to Arlington, VA. We are very excited to have her close by! In fact, we are having dinner with her this week!
    * Tom invited over a couple of coworkers for a computer gaming night. It was such a hit that we are making it a monthly occurrence! Oh, how we love having a basement!
    * For Easter, my mom and a couple from our smallgroup came over for dinner after church. We grilled, watched the new Stargate SG-1 movie, and played some scrabble.
    * We celebrated my mom's birthday with a Stargate Cake and gave her the entire series of Stargate SG-1 for her birthday. We are also planning a vacation together as part of her b-day present. In September we are headed west for 8 days in the Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone area.
    * We had an open house last weekend to show off the new place!

Tom is progressing well on his prototype for his start-up company idea and his projects at work are going well. I have been crazy busy at work and taken on a lot of new tasking, but it's fun. Cucumber has settled in well and enjoys running up and down the stairs. We are all healthy and mostly just enjoying our house. It is so nice to not have to everything so cluttered; to have a place for everything to live.

The coming months look just as busy as the ones before it, but we are making sure to take out time for us, whether catching up on the tv shows our Tivo has recorded or just reading next to each other. The quiet time is nice :)

Much has happened since I last posted an update.

Christmas
We drove out to Illinois for two weeks and got to see everyone for the first time since Tom and I became husband and wife. We had a good time, but it was very busy. We drove home with three days still left to just be at home. We very much needed that. You can see some of the pictures from our first Christmas together here.

New Beginnings
In mid January I (jen) started a new job with EMA, a company in Southern Maryland which does alot of work with the Navy Base. It's been two weeks on the new job and so far it seems perfect. Much better work environment than my last job (amazing difference), interesting work, great people... it's definitely made life in general less stressful.

Tom is still working at Manned Flight Simulator and putting the finishing touches on a project he's been working on for quite awhile. Now the slightly stressful part of starting a new project!

Family Concerns
My family has been plagued with health issues: My Aunt had a stent put in her heart, My Uncle having both major leg arteries cleared out as there were almost totally blocked, and my grandmother had a minor stroke... Lots of prayer going on to keep them healthy. And Erin has some kind stomach bug which is worrying Dawn a bit.

Life in General
Tom and I are doing well. We are keeping busy with projects. He's working on a computer network idea that might work well for school labs. We finally hung pictures in the last room that needed it - our bedroom. A friend and I threw a Baby Shower for our friends whose baby is due in March, and I'm now gearing up for Wedding related parties for my best friend Jess ( she's my maid of honor and getting married May 5th). In all that, we make/find time to spend time together watching our favorite TV shows - Heroes, Stargate, and Battlestar Gallactica - cooking dinner together, and playing computer games ;o)

Of course, Cucumber is happy. She loves chasing Tom around and playing tag. And, as always, cuddles with me. In fact, she's walking around me right now as I type! and about to curl up next to me.

We hope you are all doing well. Time for me to go to sleep. :)

I am so excited about thanksgiving this year. More than I have been in a long time! We are going to have a small get together - just Tom, my mom and me. Well, and the Cucumber ;o)

I'm cooking the entire meal for the day. I'm going to wake up around 9, turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade, clean the turkey and get it all seasoned up and put in the oven ( I stuff it with a pierced lemon or two, mix up butter with some flavorful spices and stuff the butter under the skin). Then while watching the parade I'll make up my homemade apple pie and get it ready to put in the oven so it's fresh and warm for dessert later in the day.

The rest of the dinner menu includes: mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, stuffed ham (we are making that tonight), and a bottle of Sharp Rock Chardonnay Reserve. Dessert will include the Apple pie and some homemade ice cream (making that tomorrow). Later in the evening I will be serving up some chocolate martini's as well ;o)

My mom is going to stay the night at our house and the next morning we are going to make homemade cream chip beef and put up Christmas decorations! I promise to post pictures of the tree!

What are your holiday plans?

When I was little girl, every holiday season my grandfather would either buy for himself or receive as a gift (many times from me) a Whitman's Sampler box of chocolates. I would sit next to him as he picked out his favorites and he would always let me pick one too. Of course, back then my tastes being those of a child, all i ever liked was the messenger boy in the middle that was made of all chocolate or the jordan almonds they used to put in the sampler. But the memories of those times were great!



Yesterday Tom and I started our own tradition that will also carry over these memories. Yesterday we bought a Whitman's Sampler. We sat on the couch sharing chocolate, trying the different pieces, laughing as each of us tried to get caramel out of our teeth, and decided this was something we are going to do every year. As Tom said, it will be a memory for us and a our kids, as well as a way for them to know of my grandfather.

So here's to the Whitman's Sampler, My Grandfather, and new family traditions!

October has flown by.
Work has been keeping both of us really busy. Both of us have been working a few extra hours, but figure those ours are going to come in handy for not having to go to work the friday after Thanksgiving! Four Day Weekend!!!

Rennisance Faire
We managed to make it there for one weekend. Everyone ate Turkey Legs, Shopped for presents, and watched some great shows! Here's Tom Turkey:


Cucumber
She's doing well. Not much new to report with her besides the fact that now it's getting colder she's sleeping with us more often ;o) We'll wake up and not be able to move because she planted herself around us or on us. The colder weather doesn't slow her down though. Daily she goes through the "crazies" running around the house and being active in her favorite pastime: bird watching


Mmm.. Cake!
Jen's also been working on her cake skills. Take a look at her latest work!


Halloween was a blast.
Our development always gets a ton of kids. It one of those areas where parents bring their children to go trick-or-treating because you can hit alot of homes all at once and it's safe! Truly, we have a neighborhood cop one drive up from ours! Anyways, Jessica's sister bailed on her for a night of movies and pizza, so Jess came to our house for some trick-or-treating, Turkey Tacos, & Lime Martini's. The kids started arriving around 6. First, my neighboer Mary came out with her dog Argus and joined us in festivities with her own bowl of candy to give out. Then later on came another neighbor, Heather, with her dog Bear, and towards the end another neighbor, Lou, joined us. We were quite a sight! The kids had a hard time understanding that four of the five of us sitting out front of my house wanted to give them candy! Quite a few times we had to call out, "You missed one!". We had quite a good time and were immensely entertained by Bear & Argus. I mean, who wouldn't find it amusing to see this tiny puppy beagle thinking he could beat up on a full grown Boxer?! ;o)


Tom's Early Present
Jen got Tom a fabulous present for his birthday! And considering it is somewhat weather sensitive, she decided to give it to him early in the hopes that he might be able to put it on at least once. He's got other smaller presents waiting for him for on his actual birthday, but this one...well, it's #1! A Bikini top for his Jeep! He's wanted one since seventh grade and now he's got one! ;o) As soon as he uses it the first time pictures will be taken ;o)

Family Update
Jen's little cousin Erin that had surgey back in August is finally home. She arrived home this past Friday and so now they are all trying to settle in and get on a schedule. It's going to be rough for Erin adapting back to things at home, Rachel (her sister) wanting her mom's attention after having been apart so much, and Dawn (their mom) trying to physically and emotionally support both children. Erin's recovery and rehab is going well. Her mood continues to improve and we all know that having a good mood makes you feel ten times better when you're sick or hurt.

Once again, we hope to update more often... Just got to find our posting groove ;o) However you can see more pictures at our Flickr Site