Happy New Year!!

Just want to take a minute to wish you all a happy and healthy 2009. Its going to be a great year, I just know it!!

Oh yeah, here are new pictures of the kids....

Going BOWLING....

A.J. and the Air Force Falcons have been invited to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas on December 31st. Of course, Dave, Erin and I will be attending. We would love to have any of you join us but do understand it is a bit of a schlep. The game will be televised on ESPN at 10AM California time. The Falcons will be playing Houston, a team they beat earlier this season. Hopefully they will take care of them once again!!

My AHAH moment....

It came last week while on one of my many walks. I had been thinking about my kids alot and ways that I could help them or make their life easier. It really evolved into thinking about what type of relationship I wanted with them. Do I need them to talk to me about everything in their life? Do I need them to turn to me for everything? Do I need them to ALWAYS like me? I thought the answers were all YES but the more I thought about the more I realized it wasn't.
When A.J. left for school I knew I wanted to give him space and not bug him. It was hard when I realized that he didn't need me as much as I wanted him to need me(Dave let me know that's because we raised him right). I know this first semester hasn't been easy on him and, at times, I wasn't sure how he was doing. Erin has been having some difficulty in school this semester and I have had to lay down the law in ways I didn't want to (i.e. take away her car and restrict her USY activities). She would often be in her room doing who knows what and seemed unhappy.
I knew I didn't need my kids to think of me as their best friend and tell me everything BUT I also knew that I didn't want them to HATE me, or worse think I was to blame for their problems. It hurt to think that they may be sad, upset or lonely and feel they had no place to turn.
I went back over conversations, discussions and actions I have taken in the past few months and decided I would change very few things. I decided that I did all the things I needed to do so that my kids knew that I cared about them and cared about their future. I decided its OK if they are mad at me or don't need as much of me as they once did. Its OK if they want to keep to themselves or share their problems with someone other than me. I do know that I have done what I needed to do so they know I love them and will always be here for them--no matter what. When all is said I done I want my children to know I care. And that, without even consciously knowing it, was what I wanted all along.

Its been too long

and I am sorry about that. It is basically "same ole, same ole" at the Wallerstein's. A.J. came home for Thanksgiving and it was great to have him home. He seemed happy and, believe or not, taller. He spent time with the family and with lots of friends and then headed back to school for a few weeks of classes and finals. He will be back home again on December 18th. Fortunately/unfortunately, it will be a short vacation. On December 26th he is flying to Dallas to start practice for the Armed Forces Bowl. The Falcons will be playing in the bowl game on December 31st (more details to follow). We are all going to the game and will fly back home on January 1st and then A.J. goes back to school on January 4th. It will be a short time in L.A. but at least he will be home for latkes and his birthday.
All seems well with Erin. It looks like we may have turned the corner on school/study issues (keep your fingers crossed) and it is now soccer season. She plays on the JV team at Canyon and, IMO, is great!! It is so fun to watch her play and see what a daredevil she is in goal. She is afraid of NOTHING. It is still preseason and the team is off to a bit of a rocky start. Hopefully they will get it together just in time for league and then kick some Santa Clarita butt. Of course, I will keep you posted.
Well thats all for now. I will try to keep you more in the loop!! Happy Holidays!