Just Jump Right In........

Knowing where to start in a blog is one of the most difficult things for me to do. I over think.....What if nobody reads it? What if everybody reads it? What if I come off sounding like a jerk? What if I come off sounding dumb? What if, what if,what if........ So this morning while I have 1.2 hours to spare I thought I would try and do a quick blog entry. If you've read my profile you know my life pretty much revolves around my hobby, CROCHET! From the time I was 9 years old. So, this little blog, although it will have little scraps of information about me and my family and my very busy life, you will hear primarily about my hobby, that I am trying to turn into a successfully business. (Like every hobby enthusiast!)

Because I will be rambling all over the place with this blog I wanted to give you a quick introduction to my family because I'm sure their names will crop up in here from time to time and I don't want you to be left in the dark.

In January of '99 when I was 32 years old, I lost my husband of 11 years to a mono genetic form of Diabetes called MODY 3. Our children at the time of his passing were 11, 8, 6 and 2. He passed away not knowing that he had a genetic form of diabetes because it had only recently been discovered. (more on MODY later).

After my husband passed away, my best friend hooked me up to the Internet and suggested that it would be good therapy. One of the first things I did, was do a search for old high school friends/crushes. I found Ed Ponte's e-mail address (I had a huge crush on him half of my high school life) and I e-mailed him. After learning that he had an 8 year old son and had been divorced for about 7 years, he lived in New Jersey (I lived in California) we exchanged e-mails 3 or 4 times. He lost my e-mail address and about 5 months later I received a phone call out of the blue. He was vacationing in California and wanted to know if I wanted to meet with him (and bring the kids) and go swimming at his Dad's ranch. We met at a local pizza place, and when I stepped out of my car and he stepped out of his car, birds sang*fireworks blazed*violins played* It was as close to love at first sight as it can be. He still insists that if I had not been holding my 2 year old son at the time he would have given me a hug I would never forget!! We were married exactly one year to the day later on August 5, 2000. (He proposed to me on Y2K)

So here we are fast forward 9 years later. Back in 2002 we added another child to our family. But since I am trying to keep this in age order I will talk about her later.

As I write this blog my oldest daughter, Marissa is 22. She lives in California and she made me a grandma in November of 2007. I am fortunate enough to see them about twice a year and my next visit with them will be in about 3 weeks.

My step son, Justin is 20 and currently attending a college in NJ. He is studying Business and he also works. We see him once or twice a month and we have been very blessed because our children get along so well together. This is a picture of Justin and my husband, Ed and his dad in the middle. It was taken a couple of years ago, but they are all still just as good looking :-)

Thomas is also 20 and he is the reason my blog post has a time limit today. I have to take him to the Air Force recruiter to try and get him launched into the service. (his choice!) He is a fantastic construction worker/handyman/jack of all trades! This weekend he put shelves up in our garage, big beautiful shelves that will help me keep my tubs of yarn organized! I actually found it comical that this project really did revolve around my tubs of yarn and crafts. I caught Thomas and his brother Lance, (the skinny one in the hat and blue shirt, the other kid is Jimmy, our neighbor and my youngest son's best friend) discussing how many tubs of "mom's crap" would fit on each shelf. Gotta love those boys!

After I learned about MODY I had my 4 children tested and my 2nd son, Lance tested positive for the same mono genetic diabetes that took my husbands life. Lance was 12 when he was diagnosed. He is currently 17 years old and in his final year of high school. He attends a vocational school and has been studying welding for 2 years. His diabetes has not really affected him at this point (as MODY 3 is a progressive form of diabetes), His eating habits have changed somewhat, but he is not on any pills or medication. He stands at 6'1" (the same height as his father) and weighs about 130.....skinny as a rail. He loves to bike, skateboard, ride quads and as I mentioned before, welding

The youngest of my sons is Collin, who is going to be 13 in about 5 more days. He is a skateboarder also but his passion is video games (I cringe when I say that) Yes, he was introduced to video games early in life and has remained a loyal fan to them. He gets outside and skates and bikes and plays sports regularly, so I'm not too worried about his heart health, but sometimes our only topic of discussion with him at the dinner table revolves around video games, the latest and greatest and how to beat what level etc....

But what a great kid he is! Now, I have to tell you that he is my "Alpaca Hat" model boy on my website And although he looks mad in most of the photos, I just told him he did not have to smile (he had just gotten his braces put on) and I also thought that a "too cool to smile" photo worked for one of these hats.

And finally, as I mentioned above, my youngest was born in 2002. She is currently 7 years old, and what a blessing she was and still is! I have called her the glue that holds everyone together, maybe not so much now that the boys are teens, but they have always doted on her and she has been a delight to all. Her name is Isabelle and below is a baby photo (to show you the christening gown I made for her) as well as a current photo. (wearing a hat I crocheted)

Having Isabelle has been such a boost to my crochet life! She'll actually wear the things I make and likes them! (not so much my teenage boys)

That is my little family in a nutshell, and I think I have gone on long enough with my first introductory blog post. Till next time...............