Georgia State Capitol Christmas Tree

SeKoixa and I had the opportunity to decorate the christmas tree at the Georgia State Capitol. We had so much fun. We went up just before her rehearsal for the Nutcracker, and spent a better part of the day testing the lights, and fluffing the poinsettas, and watering the tree. The tree is so huge. Cymmone was sad she was not able to come. She went with her dad this year for Thanksgiving.

Happy 13th Birthday Dalon

On November 20, 1995, 13 Years ago I gave birth to a beautiful little boy - Dalon Gerome Gonzalez. He was 1 lb 5 oz. He was 12 inches long. I called him my foot long hot dog. He had beautiful brown and blonde hair, and blue eyes.
He was the most amazing little guy, and such a fighter. He lost his fight in this world just a few short weeks later, but the impact he had on my life is endless.
I thank God for him everyday. Without him in my life, I would not be the woman and mother I am today. So today, I celebrate his life - his amazing life!
It has been hard living here in Georgia, because every year me and the girls would go see him for every holiday. Since we have not been home to Utah since we left, we have not had a chance to go see him.
We never missed a birthday and never missed a Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas, and Easter. You name it, we were there. The girls and I would sing to him, clean his grave site and take him toys.
Cymmone and SeKoixa have teddy bears I gave them over the past few years. The Teddy Bears they have belonged to Dalon. When I saw the movie brother bear, I was inspired to pass them onto my daughters. They both sleep with their bears, and know who their brother is. I am proud to share his story with them, and they are proud to say they have an older brother.

(thank you to my sisters for going down there the past few years and making sure they took him some decorations and allowing me to share in the moment)
Here are the pictures from the past two years.

SeKoixa's Artwork is Published!!!

SeKoixa came home with a book yesterday, and just sat it down in front of me. She said here Mom, read this.

I looked through the book as she hovered over my shoulders, and came across a page which she told me to look closely at. It was her artwork in a book, with her name and everything. It was so cute. I read more about the book and the program. The website is http://www.vsarts.org/ for those who want to read about the program. This exhibit includes pieces created by children attending mainstream to special education classrooms working with VSA arts affiliate schools and centers around the world. The program is geared towards special needs children, but they also work with other children who are interested in becoming an artist. Well SeKoixa, she sure made me proud. I have bragging rights now.

Here is a direct link to the art exhibit where her work is shown http://www.creativeconnections.org/international_art_exhibits/2008_art_exhibit.php

She is under USA and you have to scroll down to find her work by name of the work, "Me and My Sister". If you don't want to do all of that work and go directly to the picture here it is http://www.creativeconnections.org/international_art_exhibits/show_art.php?imageid=2507

Cymmone and her UTI's

Ever since Cymmone was able to use the toilet and speak, she has gotten multiple Urinary Tract Infections. She has one about every 3-6 months. Recently she has stopped telling me when she hurts. The only way I know, is when she wets the bed at night. A few weeks ago I had taken her to the doctors. Apparently she wet the bed at her dad's house over the weekend, but neither of them mentioned it to me.
That is really the only sign she has one anymore. So when I found out, I took her to the doctors first thing in the morning. I had heard enough excuses from the specialists and doctors we were going to, I was fed up. But this doctor, he did not want to hear what I was saying. He kindly wrote a prescription and sent us on our way.
When we went to church on Sunday, I brought her up front for special prayer. There is something about everyone at church praying for her at once, and all 20 deacons, pastors, ministers and reverends. I needed to know what was wrong, and needed God to touch me with the knowledge I needed to put the doctors in the right direction with this.
Prayer - Works! A week later, she was showing signs of yet another one. So about 7 days after she finished the meds the first doctor gave her. When I took her back to the doctors this time, I was just so darn frustrated, because she was telling me how mych pain she was in. I cried and cried at the office. Begged them to please listen to me. This was her 6th one this year. Finally, she said, this is just not right. This doctor said lets get some samples and run some tests, and get her to a specialist.
The specialist they wanted to send her to, was the first one she saw. They chopped it up to being just her constipated. But she is not. Only maybe once a month, and that is not enough to cause all of these problems. So I refused to go there again. Needless to say, the doctor got permission for me to take her to another specialist, who deals with primarly adults. Much older people. But he was willing to do this for me.
When we left the doctors that day, we went back to the church, I needed another prayer for her, I was missing something, I asked God to help me understand the pain my daughter was feeling so I could tell the doctors where to begin. The Pastor was surprised to see me, but took me and the girls to the sanctuary, and prayed for us.
It never occured to me until after the specialist visit today, but my prayers were answered, I just never saw the signs. Let me explain.
I had a pain in my shoulder, I was given medicine, two days after I asked for God to give me the pain so I could understand. This medicine, it caused my kidney to swell, and there was a lot of pain. A lot of pain, for about a week straight, and even up until yesterday. The pain, it is gone now. I can breathe, and sit in a normal position. The meds say that there is a 1% chance I would get a kidney stone. But the doctor said it was most likely not the problem, and to simply wait it out and see if the pain would go away. It just so happened to be my left kidney.
This afternoon I took Cymmone to the specialist, and he was as nice as nice could be. He was pretty upset that the doctor did not listen to my concerns a few weeks ago, and he grew even more concerned when he learned that Cymmones pain was much higher in her stomach area. He did a sonogram and found that her pain was from a swollen kidney.
There are a lot of tests that he needs to run on her. Tests that would make a grown person cry from having them done. He said he would put Cymmone to sleep to perform some of the procedures so I did not have to hear her cry and she did not have to be in pain.
So one more step closer, closer than we have ever been. God will heal her, he will help the doctors find the problem. I hate putting her through all of this, but I can't bear the thought of her losing a kidney or dying because of this problem.
Right now, he thinks it could be reflux in the bladder, and that it could be spitting the infection back up to her kidneys. This happens from having way to many UTI's. Why she is having so many UTI's, well we still have to find the answer to that one. I am starting to think it is something in her diet. Something she does not get all of the time, but every 3-5 months. Some food, something she is eating. I am thinking about starting a log of the food she eats. SeKoixa used to get yeast infections from apple juice concentrate as a little baby. So I am thinking that there is something simple, something like that, something she is allergic to, or that her body can not break down. After all of this, I know God will lead me in the right direction, and bring Cymmone back to good health.
I love my kids, and will do anything for them, anything!

Nutcracker

This year SeKoixa has been selected to perform in the Nutcracker. Her school's choir was chosen to participate. She was hesitant at first, but I told her if she does not try something new she will miss out later on in life. So she tried it, and loves it. She is so cute how she does her dance. We went down to get her picture done at the Ballet Studio, and they fitted her with a Chinese costume. I think it is cute. She will be doing a special dance called the dream. It is something new they are trying.

I was down at their practice session a week ago, and got the pleasure of seeing how hard she is working. She will actually be front and center on the stage. That is what I get for having the shortest kid in the group. HA HA

I hope to be able to take plenty of pictures to share with everyone. During the week of Thanksgiving will be the rehearsal, so no traveling for us this year. We will remain here in Atlanta so she can perform.

Music Workshop @ Church

This weekend was sure a busy one. Being active in our church has allowed our lives to be used for good. The girls love singing in their choir. They had a music workshop this weekend. SeKoixa and Cymmone signed up. I was asked to do the welcome for the concert/performance laster that night. So I had to prepare my little speech.

I went and took some photos of everyone and made a video for the church. The Pastor really enjoyed it. If it gets posted on the churches website I will let you all know.

At the performance Cymmone got picked at last minute for a solo. I wished I had recorded it, but at least I was able to get the rap they did recorded. I will see if I can get that posted soon.

The girls also had to perform on Sunday service at 1045am. They were so excited, because both of them had the solos this week. I recorded this one, and again, they have both been blessed with wonderful voices. Cymmone's voice is just now maturing, and with the time we spend singing, she will be like her sister in no time.

SeKoixa, she really draws a crowd. This time the Pastor jumped from his seat and ran up front to see who was singing. Everyone was amazed and so proud of the girls. I am glad the hours I have put into their singing, and their choir is paying off for them. They really enjoy doing it.

I finally finished my new member classes today, so it is official, I am a member of their church now. I joined right into the Youth Ministry, and also signed up to do the Audio Visual Ministry. I got my first taste of working in the AV department tonight. For the first time in our churches history we broadcasted over AM radio and the internet. I am sure we will do it again, I will be sure to let you know when. Here is the site where you can listen next time.

http://www.reggiegay.com/

The girls were supposed to perform tonight to, but they ended up not making the kids sing. However Reggie put the mic to Cymmone's mouth, so she did get on the radio tonight singing. Only for a few seconds, but it was sure funny. I sat in the sound booth controlling the audio that was streaming, so I did not get the chance to see her, she was just out of the camera's view that I also monitored.

High School Musical 3

A month ago at SeKoixa's birthday party, my friends and I decided we will take the kids out to High School Musical 3 on opening night. The kids were so excited. Each week they have looked forward to tonight. And it was too much fun.

Tyler, Alyssa, Tyranesha, Cymmone, Nichole, and SeKoixa went, and so did their moms, my friends. I have been so lucky to find such great friends who are committed to their kids as much as I am. We are planning on doing something at least once a month to keep the friendship with the kids going, and give us some mommy time together.

Here are the pictures we took afterwards.

Firefighter Challenge

Over the weekend the girls and I went to cheer on Clayton County Fire Department at this FireFighter Challenge event. We had a great time, and learned what it would take to be a fireman. The food was great, and the games and activities were perfect for the little ones. And personally, staring at all of those fine men in the uniforms, well, I think I went for me!!

SeKoixa decided she wanted to do the firefighter challenge for juniors. The course was interesting, and a lot of fun. Cymmone was not feeling the childrens challenge, but none the less, she and I volunteered and assisted in putting back the items for the course the kids had to run. It was cute seeing her pull the dummy back in place for the next person to drag them out of the fire.

Saturday night we went ahead and headed to the fair. We had so much fun. The rides were great, the food was awesome. We even won me a fish. The girls already had one, so I had to claim this one as my own. We named him Pharoh. Cymmone might adopt him if her poor fish dies. Her fish got sick this past week, and we are not sure what is wrong with him. So I feel bad. But here are some pictures for you all.

The New Me

Ok, so back in August I cut off all of my hair. Used to be to my middle back. Most people don't know, so I figured I would post some pictures of the cut, and how it has grown out so far.

Me, just after I moved here, with long straight hair.

Me, after I colored and now have long curly hair

The hair coming off


Me Just after the cut



Me now, with it growing out

ALL A's HONOR ROLL

This is one proud mom!!! Both of my girls made the All A's Honor Roll.

I am so proud of them. The girls enjoy doing their homework more now that they don't get thumped in the head, and don't get punished when they have a hard time coming up with the answer. (And NO, it was not me doing that! Want to guess who?!)

I went and had breakfast with them this morning for the award ceremony for the honor roll. In 2nd grade there were about 12 students with all A's. Cymmone was one of them!! In 4th grade there were about 17 students with all A's, and SeKoixa was one of them. I was the only mother with two children in the All A's Honor Roll. Proud moment I tell ya! I am positive they will keep up the same throughout the year. Just goes to show with positive change comes positive rewards. Getting sole physical custody of Cymmone, and her dad walking away from raising SeKoixa might just be the best thing for my girls!

Anyways.... I am proud of the girls. They have come leaps and bounds now that I am back in control of things with their education. Cymmone is in 2nd grade, but reading at a 3.5 grade level. She is also in a program called SCORE. It is for gifted classes. She is doing well there. Amazing how she thinks. Cymmone has showed an interest in Karate, and they offer it once a week in afterschool. I will sign her up for that soon too. They have settled into their new routine with me and are coming along well.

SeKoixa's reading has jumped back up. I was concerned about her reading levels, but we are back to reading every night together. I had done that since they were born. Read to them all of the time just before bed. I stopped doing it all of the time about 6 months after I moved here. The schedule got to busy to do it, and my drive time home from work made it difficult to find time for it. SeKoixa is also back on top of her math skills. She is getting those times tables memorized, and works really hard in school. She has even had time to take on extra activities. She is in the school choir, and will be performing in the Nutcracker this year as a doll.

Cymmone Lost Another Tooth

CYMMONE LOST ANOTHER TOOTH!
Cymmone has only lost two of her teeth on the bottom. She has the most crooked smile. It is cute. But she has been trying to get out this big tooth on top for about 3 months. It was just simply caught on her gums. We were up till 10pm trying to get it out. We used dental floss, and pulled as hard as we could, and finally it came out.

SeKoixa's Baptism

SeKoixa chose to be baptized back in August. One morning she woke up, and asked if we could go find a new church. We had tried about 10 churches since we moved here, and did not find one that felt like home.

This day, Cymmone was at her Dad's house. So SeKoixa and I set out again to find a church. We happen upon Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church. We knew day one that this was where we belonged. I was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Utah, and we missed going to church and Sunday school every week. It always kept me where I needed to be in life.

I was baptised myself as a baptist a few years back. What a great church, and such wonderful people. They kept me on my toes, and my head on straight. They were my second family. I miss them so much. So do the girls. They miss singing in the childrens choir to. My girls sure love to sing!!

So after SeKoixa and I went to church, before we joined, we needed to introduce Cymmone, and see how she felt about the church as well. Church to me, it's a family decision. Cymmone, she loved it. They asked SeKoixa if she wanted to be baptized, and she said yes. She was about to be 10, and I felt she was ready to make the choice. They asked Cymmone, and she was like - NO! It was funny.

So the day of her baptism, the day after her birthday party, we headed to church. The girls were so cute in their red dresses. After her baptism, Cymmone said she wanted to get baptized to. I asked Cymmone if she knew what it meant to be baptized. She said, "I think so". So I told her it meant that you believed that Jesus died for your sins so that you may be saved. And she said, "oh yes mommy, I do. I guess that means I can be baptized, because I love Jesus!!" But I feel like she needs to be a little older before taking that step.

So for now Cymmone will commit herself to God, and recieve his blessings that way. I am so proud of my girls for making good choices. Here is a video of SeKoixa's Baptism. She is just to cute! Both of the girls are going to join the childrens choir as well.

SeKoixa's Birthday - Age 10

Now having been broke from doing Cymmone's birthday in August, I now have another one to do for SeKoixa. She was turning 10. She had all sorts of ideas for what she wanted to do. One night, we were eating at our favorite Pizza Joint - Rocky's Pizza (best lemon pepper wings ever!!).

She asked if we could use their party room. I was down for this. IT WAS FREE!!

We booked the room for later that month. I gave SeKoixa 22 invites to pass out at school to her class. Turns out in 4th grade, they don't care if you pass only to your friends. 3rd grade and younger, you have to give to whole class or not at all. I was happy for this, but did not plan on all those kids showing up. OMG!! She had about 15 friends show from her school. Plus some girls from girlscouts, and some of my other family from here in ATL.

SeKoixa, she was so excited. Everyone RSVP'd which was great. I could not get more than 25 people in that room though. But we had just enough room. SeKoixa and Cymmone are big on Karaoke, so for her birthday, Cymmone and I bought SeKoixa some karaoke cd's from Camp Rock and HSM2 ( high school musical 2), and a karaoke player. So we had a karaoke party. All of the girls loved it. We were so loud, but had a blast. Party cost - under 100 dollars for everything. That included drinks, pizza, cake, wings, fries etc. I was shocked to say the least.

We did however get kicked out of the room. The owner double booked the room without telling me. But we did not let it crush our spirits. A few of my friends and their daughters hung outside for about 2 hours just talking, and the kids were playing in the parking lot.

I had my niece with me, she is too cute. She ended up not feeling well, so I had her rest in the car for a bit. Just before we were leaving, she said - BLUAHHH- yes she threw up. Poor baby. She did a good job catching it only in Cymmone's car seat and on herself. Kept my car clean. I owe her for that one. I hate throw up. We took her out of the car, and my friend had wipes, we cleaned her off, took her home, and I put her in some pajamas. She was so good about it. She threw up a few more times, but never complained or cried. I wished my kids were like that. HA HA.

SeKoixa had a great time for her birthday. So did we!

School Pictures

OK, so school picture time has already come and gone. Personally, I hate school pictures. Especially now the girls have to wear uniforms. Yuck. So, I do school pictures my way. This time I took the girls out to Little 5 Points. There happens to be a cool murial wallSo I created a short video that includes some of the pictures I took of the girls. They are too cute.

I am getting good at this video editing thing!

Cymmone's Birthday Party - Age 7

On August 26th Cymmone turned 7. She has grown so much. She is getting taller and taller each month. And she just about wears the same show size as her sister, SeKoixa, who is three years older than her. Cymmone is now 50 inches tall, and weighs about 56lbs.

Cymmone is a silly girl. She really knows how to make people laugh, or knows how to get on your nerves. I can always turn to her to get a smile. She loves to come up with the craziest knock knock jokes. She will call her friends in Utah, and tell them jokes that make no sense.
Her favorite one, Knock Knock, "Whose there?" - Baking Power, "Baking Powder Who?" - Baking Powder Boy That's Who. Just silly silly silly!
So for Cymmone's birthday we had planned to do a Salon Party. The salon I go to was allowing me to pay 150.00 to have 6 girls brought in to get hairdo's etc. I thought it was a great idea. I had little goodie bags with mirrors, pretties, the whole 9 yards. We were all ready to go. I called three days before to make sure, and then the bad news.

The two ladies who were going to do it, had been fired. I was pretty upset. It was going to be a blast. Everyone had confirmed to. So I had to break some hearts. So I had to come up with a quick last minute party. The first thing I did, was hit up the internet, and check out some kids magazines here in Atlanta. Great ideas there. I found one of those jumping places where they have all the blow up toys inside for the kids to jump and slide on. It cost me a good bit of money. But I had to do it in less than week. At least this time I was able to invite her entire class.
There was some confusion with that because her dad felt it was necessary to throw her a party as well with the school class to be invited, and he does this without talking to me first. Being the primary parent, I find this kind of rude of him and his wife. Someday they will learn what communication is.

So some of the parents were confused, but would have rather come to my party, knowing who I was already, and not her dad's. Maybe because it was something different to do instead of Chuck E Cheeses. I always get a good turn out, the other parents wonder how I do it. I will never tell my secrets.

So the party was great. The kids had a ton of fun. They got to jump for 70 minutes, and then eat cake and play video games etc. Some of us mothers even got up in the toys and played. What a work out. HA HA

Vacation Home - California

Over the Summer of 08 the girls and I took a much needed family vacation away from Atlanta. We went back to my home, California. I was born in Escondido, and my dad and step mom currently reside in San Diego. My brother, Tristan, his wife Jacky and their daughter Atalaya live in Escondido, CA.

Visiting my Dad was my neice, Lily and my nephew, Dakota. So my dad had a full house. His house over looks the valley, and I love sitting out on their porch swing at night during the sunset. This time however, their swing was free-cycled, and they purchased a new one from the Del Mar Fair, which had yet to be delivered. So I settled for sitting on the couch next to my dad and doing Sudoku.

The past year has been pretty rough for me and the girls. When I moved across the country and left Utah, to pursue a greater dream, I never imagined my children would suffer through so much. You live and you learn. All I know is, God will see us through, and we will come out on top of this. Needless to say, we needed this vacation. I needed some sense of home, some sense of family. And my kids, they needed to know they were still loved. Enough of a booster to keep us going here in Atlanta.

We had a blast in California. We went to a musical theatre, and saw Bye Bye Birdie. I never thought the kids would like musical theatre. But they loved it. We bought front row seats. Expensive, but worth it. They watched the musicians in the pit play their instruments. SeKoixa liked it so much, I think she might do theatre when she is older, maybe Cymmone to. They both love music and acting.

We also went to the beach. We hit up Coronado Beach. It is a little island just off the coast. The bridge to get there, well frankly it scares me. But it was great. The beach we went to was a dog beach. There were so many different types of dogs, but it made it so fun to hang with them off of their leashes. We played in the water, I taught SeKoixa and Dakota how to boogie board. We collected shells, and we found the coolest thing any of us had seen in our lives. For the first time, we saw a live sand dollar. Who would have thought they were so pretty when they were alive to. We found about 10 dead ones, and about 8 alive ones. We threw the alive ones back into the water. We also saw a school of dolphins swimming along the coast. My dad, he even came with us. He sat on the beach in his chair with jeans on, but according to my step mom, he put shorts on underneath. Just in case he had to swim in to rescue us.

We also went to the Wild Animal Park. I grew up a few miles away from the park, in Escondido. It has changed a lot from the last time we went. They have a safari ride you can go on. It was really quite cool. We walked all around, and I got some great shots of the animals and kids. We got to feed some birds as well. We fed them nectar from a cup. It scared Cymmone half to death. She hates birds.

I packed the kids in the car one day, and took them to Wienerschnitzel. This is my favorite all time place to eat. The best damn chili cheese dogs you will ever have. For those of you who want to know what I am talking about go to http://www.wienerschnitzel.com/ and check it out. Closest one to Atlanta is Lousiana. Sucks!!! While we were there, a bank robbery happened, and we saw a police helicopter overhead. We wondered if it was my brother. He is a cop in San Diego, and he flies next to the pilot and controls the camera and radio calls. Kind of cool stuff.

This leads me to my next part. Later that night, after eating well, I met up with my brother just up the street from my dad's house. This is where the helicopter pad is for his job. I got to go on a ride a long with my brother. I was stoked. The kids got to hang out in the helicopter and check out all of the stuff. Before we took off, I said goodbye, and up we went. It was a little smoggy, but it did not matter. It was the coolest thing I have ever done. I had been trying for years to get in a ride a long with my brother. Each time, I had not been able to. So this time, it was extra special. I admire my brother for what he does. I had grown up always wanting to be a cop or a lawyer. Who knew computers would be my natural gift from God.
We rode down to the border of Mexico, and along the coast line, over the big bridge to Coronado Beach, and over the top of the olympic training facility, over the baseball field and football field. IT ROCKED!! What an amazing experience. My brother is cool!

We also had the pleasure of spending a day at SeaWorld. I went with my brother, his daughter, my two girls, my niece, and nephew. My brothers wife met up with us a little later, she had to work. SeaWorld from my brothers point of view, having my own personal tour guide, was great. We got to see all of the cool stuff, and since he has season passes, he is able to show us where to go etc. We had a great time. Even when the birds tried to eat our food from our hands. Again, freaked out poor Cymmone.

The trip back home was filled with all sorts of fun and excitement. 4th of July BBQ for my dad's street. Met all of his neighbors again. Great people! I took an amazing photo of my dad's neighbor holding his grand-baby in his hands. Just a beautiful picture. The kids had a great time playing in the yard, and I got a few drinks! I even made Macaroni and Cheese for everyone, they loved it!

SeKoixa stayed there in California for two extra weeks, while Cymmone went on to her Dad's house for two weeks. So I came home to an empty house. SeKoixa took some more swimming lessons while she was out there. She is such an amazing swimmer. I see her going to the Olympics to. When SeKoixa arrived home at the airport she just cried and cried and cried. I love my kids, God truly blessed me when he made them both.