Being thankful....

     Well, it's been awhile since I have had the opportunity to blog, and I wanted to do a little now.

     As we all know, Halloween has just came and went, and Thanksgiving is on the horizon. I am looking forward to thanksgiving this year, being able to spend time with my loved ones and being thankful for all that I have! A co-worker of mine recently brought his smart phone up to me, and played a video for me of Taylor Swift singing the song "Ronan" that she wrote for a little boy who passed away from brain cancer.

     As I sat and watched this video, I cried like a baby! I cannot for the life of me, even begin to understand that pain that this mother felt going through this tragedy. It touched me in a way that I cannot express in words! I can only speak of Taylor, this song that she wrote, and the video of Ronan that his mom made of him in positive ways and let everyone know that is it definitely something that needs to be watched. Taylor wrote the song for the Tele-Thon that was being held in memory of Ronan, and it is such a touching song, the words really hit you where it counts, and make you remember how thankful you are for your life, health, and all that you have! Now I don't want to say that I forget what I have, but it is definitely easy to get caught up in the negatives in life, and they lead my astray from the positives. I often forget how thankful I am, but remember it now more than ever!

     I recently shared this video and song with one of my best friends, and she too sat and cried with me (yes I cried again, as I do everytime I hear it.) She has been dealt some trials and tribulations in life that weren't fair, and she still remains a great girl, positive in spirit, and doesn't complain about what she lacks in life. She makes me a better person by knowing her, and I want her to know that I am very thankful to have her in my life, and to never change who she is because someone cuts her down! She brings out the best in me, and I am thankful for her and her friendship! I have many friends that I am thankful for, but Nikki  (the friend I am speaking of) has many reasons to look to the negatives and never does, and holds her head high, and reminds me to do the same! I love her with my whole heart and soul, and want her to know how much she means to me and my family!

     So, I just wanted to blog about this video, and share with the rest of you as I think of it as an asset to remind us that things could be so much worse and we need to be thankful for what we have and how good we have it! I know I am one that needs constant reminding, but am getting better at reminding myself. :)

     In regards to Halloween, Landon had a great time with his cousin Aiden. Steve's mom Judy came to Guttenberg with Aiden as Aiden's mommy had to work at the hospital in Waterloo, and the boys went trick or treating with me, and poor Trenten suffered from the flu and had to ride along beside us in Grammy's truck. Mommy collected his candy for him, and he recovered a couple days later, and was happy to have candy there to sneak. :)  Landon was Luigi again because he wanted to be Wario or Waluigi (Nintendo characters) but we couldn't find those costumes, so he saved mom and dad money this year, and went as Luigi again, and Trenten tried to be Mario.

     For those of you who are interested, here is the link for a video of Ronan Thompson with Taylor Swift singing the song that she wrote for him, during a picture slide show of him. Grab your kleenex's, enjoy a video of a sweet angel, and remember to count your blessings, as it could be so much worse! I also included a picture of the boys after Steve and I carved their pumpkins with them! They were so proud of their pumpkins! :) Cute little devils! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoRa1yreGQo&feature=related

Nothing new...

Things have been pretty laid back here lately, nothing too exciting to blog about. I have been applying for jobs and haven't been successful yet, but I am still holding out hope! I know every lifetime has its rain, and this must just be my rainy season. I just hope that it doesn't rain so long that I rust and lose myself! I have been VERY emotional and moody lately due to the job situation, and I hope everyone can forgive me for that and not take anything to heart if I come off weird, it's definitely not anyone but ME!

I finally got a call yesterday and I have an interview Monday, but I would rather not say where until I know if I get the job or not (just so I don't jinx myself). Hopefully after Monday I will have some GREAT news to share with you all! This is a dream job for me, it is everything I want, and I am able to do everything they ask of me with my injuries so I pray to God that this is the one, that this is my opportunity. If it is, I will gladly grab it with both hands and hang on as tight as I can! I miss Sis A LOT, and there are days I just cry, because I am not sure I can do some things without her! She was my strength, the best friend/cousin/sister a person could ask for, and she was taken so abruptly it's still an adjustment for me, and I don't deal well with stress it seems. I know she is in a better place, but that doesn't give me peace of mind for my own selfish reasons (such as I NEED her here).

The kids have been good, growing like weeds as always! Trenten is getting sassy and Landon is starting to mellow, so it's like a flip flop of sort. :) Health wise they are super, and that is a blessing all in itself! I have been working at the weight loss issue lately, and it seems to be working, but SLOWER than molasses. Steve has been doing a lot of landscaping around the house lately, and he is super proud of himself as we are proud of him as well! He is such a hard worker, and deserves better than what he has, but I hope in time with finding a job and such, that I can give him more! We have cut down two trees now, with two more to go. We hope to someday replace those dead trees with some beautiful purple crab apple trees. Dad has been helping out a lot since there is not much I can do, and we are grateful for that! Dad hasn't been feeling good lately and had to go to the ER sunday night and was checked for a pulmonary embolism among other things. He has chest pains and shortness of breath, even if he is just sitting in one spot. The doctor has not yet found anything to date, but dad has to go in and have a stress test done, so we are hoping something is found so that we can take care of the issue. I don't like seeing dad sick, I always grew up having this strong dad that never complained of any health issues, and now all of a sudden he seems to have ailments constantly. I am confident that it is something simple, such as GERD or a hiatal hernia, so that it can be taken care of easily :) That is about all I know for now, hopefully my next post isn't as far away as this one was since the last post. Good day to you all! <3

~The Reimer's~ Steve, Valerie, Trenten and Landon

Trenten's first sleepover!

Well, Trenten had his first friend sleep overnight on January 13th. (Friday the 13th). Carter Esmann came home with Trenten on the bus, and they played their Nintendo DS's for awhile. Trenten and Landon liked  Carter's better because it was a 3DS, and theirs is just a DSi. Around 6 o clock, we rounded the three monkeys up in the trailblazer, and took them to Pizza Hut! They loved this! They ate tons of pizza, had cherry sierra mist, cheese breadsticks, and colored many pages of Santa, reindeer, xmas trees, etc.

Now, when we got home, they watched Wipeout that we had DVR'd, and played DS's again. I have to add, I was concerned that Trenten would be rude to his brother since he had a friend over, but let me tell you, his friend Carter was so nice and sweet to Landon, that Trenten thought it would be cool if he did it too! So Landon got tons of attention, Carter played Landon's DS XL, Landon played Carter's 3DS, and Trenten played his DSi and they all took turns swapping games and whatnot! It was the cutest thing, and they shared so nicely, we would love to have Carter back anytime! Finally, around ten o clock, I put the monkeys to bed, and they all 3 slept on the top bunk (they were excited for this and wouldn't take no for an answer).

I wake up at 8:30 the next morning to get Carter ready since his mommy was coming to get him due to him having basketball practice at 9 am, and I go in the boys' room, and there is Trenten sleeping like a log, and Landon and Carter are missing! I walk into the living room expecting them to be there, and NOTHING! Now naturally I am freaking for a brief moment, I check the door and it's still dead bolted, and I yell "CARTER" knowing I have a better chance of him answering than my naughty Landon, and all of a sudden a cute little tuft of black hair pops up behind the loveseat and says "Ya", and I am shocked. I laughed and asked him if he knows where Landon is, and Landon pops up and says, "right here mom!"  My heart stopped racing, it went back to its original spot in my chest and I laughed out loud. I asked them both what they are doing hiding behind the couch, and they hold up their DS's! Here the little cuties thought they would be in trouble for playing them so early in the morning (because my boys have time limits and can only play them on weekends), so they grabbed two game systems, a bag of games, and hid behind the couch!

Needless to say, I got Carter to come out and get dressed, Trenten woke up and played more DS with him until his mom got here, and then he was gone. Trenten AND Landon were both sad to see him go (Landon was more upset and cried), but I assured them that he could come back and stay again anytime! All in all, it was a great experience for them both, and we loved having Carter here! :) He is a really good mannered, well behaved boy! :)

Welcome

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to make you aware first off, that I have started a blog to keep you up to date with what is going on in our lives. I know it is hard to keep up with everyone (including family and friends) and I have seen many others' blogs and I find them useful. I think they are a great tool, used to keep your loves ones informed on whatever it is you want them to be informed of. In life, we find ourselves getting promoted, have another baby, getting married, going back to school, losing weight, getting a new job, moving, etc. What ever the case may be, I feel a blog is the best way for Steve, the boys, and myself to keep you updated with any news we would like to share. So, here it is! My first blog! It may be choppy and disorganized, but I will get better with time, just like good wine! :) I hope you all enjoy our blog and any news, pictures and other things we may share and I hope thing helps to clear up gaps between some of us. I miss you all, but life gets so busy with work and kids and school and after school activities and whatnot.