Getting Excited...

So, I am sooo very excited. This Friday, I am taking Hunter to ride Thomas The Train at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. He will just LOVE it and I will just LOVE the joy I get by watching the excitement in him. He is ALL boy....ya know, fascinated with anything that moves.....Planes, trains, trucks, tractors, cars. So he is, or course, telling everyone that he is going to ride a "choo choo train." I will post lots of pictures and have a great story to go along with them as well!

I found this today and smiled, because it is sooo very true!

Why God Made Little Boys

God made a world out of His dreams,

of wondrous mountains, oceans, and streams,

prairies, and plains, and wooded land,

then paused and thought, I need someone to stand

on top of the mountains, to conquer the seas,

explore the plains, and climb the trees.

Someone to start out small and grow,

sturdy, strong, like a tree and so...

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,

to explore and conquer, to romp and run.

With dirty faces, banged up chins,

with courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He'd begun,

He surely said, "That's a job well done!"

So, I am really slack about writing in this blog everyday. I really want to, and I think about doing it......But then I just get totally side tracked. Imagine that....A single mom to a 19 month old boy getting side tracked! Things have been going pretty well for us. Hunter has been sick this past week, but is feeling much better now.
In the last week, I have come to realize what an excellent support system I have. I am blessed with a WONDERFUL family and GREAT friends.......Where would I be without them? I have realized that not everyone has that luxury. And I find myself wondering.....What do they do? How do they survive? I mean, I know they do, and yeah I would too.....But I just could not even imagine.
Now, let me blog about my lil' monkey. I don't know what I am going to do with him. I really hope he is going through the "terrible 2's" early......I think to myself, "Surely it can't get any worse than this!" He is such a sweet, loving boy. But here lately, he is doing things just to see if he can get by with it. He knows that it is wrong, because when I say his name his reply is, "NO NO NO....Mommy MAD MAD MAD!" I am sure it is just a "stage" but I swear I wish we would get off this "stage"!
Another thing he has started doing is biting. Now, he doesn't bite out of anger....He bites when he gets excited. Like when we are in the floor playing and I tickle him.....He starts giggling and chomps down on my shoulder. I don't really know what to do.....I mean I can't exactly discipline him for doing this out of excitement. I do let him know that it hurts and that biting is not something that we do, but that is as far as it goes.
If anyone has any advice.....Believe me, it is welcome here!

"Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one is watching."
~Satchel Paige ~

Today, I promise.....

Today, I remember Rosa J. Gonzalaz who died on the 66th floor of the World Trade Center. Rosa was 32 years old and from Jersey City, NJ. She was a secretary for Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Rosa was a single mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, and friend. Her last words to her sister were, "I love you and promise me that you will take care of my daughter."

Here are just a few of the MANY comments I found about Rosa:

hi my names jen rosa was my mother she was a very good person i love u and miss u so much we will never forgat u ever
jennifer hernandez (jersey city, NJ)

Five years ago today you began your day as always.
Five years ago today you went to work to support you & your daughter.
Five years ago today you lost your life.
And today 9/11/2006 you and everyone else who died at the WTC are my heros!
Your death was not in vain, you have helped unite this nation. You have brought tears to many eyes,you made strangers come together in love, love for you and all of the other heros of 9/11/2001. You have brought people together who would not normally even look at each other in passing. You have helped in the uniting of a nation. In death you have done more then anyone in life. May you rest in eternal peace!
God Bless you Rosa Julia Gonzalez

I met Rosa a couple of years ago when she was working at the Housing Authority. She was always so happy and up-beat, kind and caring. My heart goes out to her daughter, I hope she'll always know what a great mother she had. I'm sorry Rosa that your life was cut so short. God Bless You and your family. May you rest in peace.
P. Martinez (Jersey City, NJ )

Rosa is my sister in law, my wife's sister. My wife and Rosa's daughter, Jennifer, still to this day cannot accept that Rosa has been taken from us. Jennifer now lives with me and my wife. I have read so many tributes to the wonderful people that we have lost at the WTC and I just want to say that Rosa was also a beautiful and caring person that certainly did not deserve to die in this way. I fear that we have all lost some of the greatest, warm, and loving people in the WTC and I mourn with all the families of all the other victims. I know the families of the victims will never forget about this brutality but I pray that the rest of the world will not either. Rosa was a single mother that really making an effort to better herself and give her daughter the best upbringing possible. Her job with the Port Authority was another step towards success. My wife and I were so proud of the her accomplishments. It is devastating to see her life cut so short. Our mission now is to care for her daughter and to do the best we can to make her a success to in spite of this tragedy in her life. Rosa, we will never forget you and we will always miss you everyday for the rest of our lives.
jeffrey coleman (Jersey City, NJ )

I do not claim to know Rosa, but while digging for pieces of information about her.....I found that she is someone I would liked to have known.
Your friends and family will never forget you.
And today, five years later, I make you this promise.......
I will never forget you.

Something to ponder.....

"The Little One That Follows Me"

A careful mommy, I ought to be;

a little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray,

for fear he'll go, the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,

whatever he sees me do, he'll try.

Like me, he says, he's going to be,

that little one that follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine;

believe in every work of mine.

The bad in me he must not see;

my life to him, must, an example be.

I must remember, as I go,

through summer's sun and winter's snow,

I'm building for the years to be,

for that little one that follows me.

~Unknown~

Life just happens....

I guess if I am going to talk about single mommy life, I should tell my story on how I became a single mommy. I never thought that this is where I would be at this point in my life, but we don't get to plan life.....it just happens.
Donnie was a very good friend of mine and had been for a couple of years. We started dating, and within a year we were engaged. Our wedding date was set for August 20, 2004. In June of 2004, I found out that I was pregnant. EVERYONE was sooo excited.....it happened earlier than we had planned, but like I said.....life just happens. We had a gorgeous wedding and later went to Tennessee for our honeymoon. I had a pretty rough pregnancy. I was sick in the beginning and at 30 weeks, I was taken out of work and put on bed rest. At 36 weeks, I was induced. God blessed me with a beautiful baby boy. Hunter Levi came into this world on February 16, 2005 at 12:29pm weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. We were soooo very happy!
After Hunter was born, money started "disappearing" out of thr checking account. Alcohol entered Donnie's life and I was married to a stranger. I thought about it, prayed about it, and came to the realization that I had to do what was best for my son and myself.
When Hunter was 3 months old, he and I moved out and moved in with my parents. Things got pretty ugly at times, but we made it through. After going to court, I was awarded full custody of Hunter and Donnie was given visitation every other Sunday for 6 hours. He was also given an order to pay child support, something that he had NEVER done. After a few Sunday visits, and NO child support payments, Donnie stopped seeing Hunter. In January, he told me that he wanted to sign over his parental rights. He told me that he was not paying me child support every month. So, here we go to court again.....on July 13, 2006 his parental rights were terminated. He has not seen Hunter since before Christmas 2005, nor will he ever see him again.
The situation is bitter-sweet. I hate the fact that Hunter does not have a father, but I am glad that Donnie did this now instead of when Hunter gets older. At this point, he does not even know Donnie nor will he ever know him. I am the one that, in the end, has to explain to Hunter why he doesn't have a father....but that is OK. We will be just fine. I will take care of him and raise him to be a fine young man. I will absolutely do the very best I can.
We will be just fine......God will take care of us!

"God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it."
~Unknown~

The "cool" thing...

So, here it is....my first blog entry. I find myself reading blogs everyday and I also find myself telling others so much about my life everyday, so why not start my own blog.....right?!? After all, everybody's doing and it seems to be the "cool" thing to do.
I am doing this so that my family and friends can stay updated on my cRaZy life and if others enjoy it, well that just makes me happy too! I can't promise that I will post everyday, but I will definitely try. If nothing else, I will post a daily quote. So here it is, this is my first step, on the path, to being "cool".

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. "
~Muriel Strode~