Its Novemeber already!!!

WOW, I can't believe that we are almost half way through Novemeber already! Where has the time gone? I can't wait for Christmas time! Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree and it looks fabulous! I can't wait to celebrate in our new house this year. There is so much more room it will be GREAT! I can't wait for this semester to be over and exams and all that jazz. It will be great to be able to relax and not have school to think about. BRING ON CHRISTMAS!
What do you look forward to the most about Christmas???

Happy half 1st birthday Allaya Violet

Well at the risk of being that cheesy auntie who likes to acknowledge the milestones in her nieces life, Happy 6 month birthday to my little niece. I can't believe how big she has gotten, she just started to roll over and get sooo excited when people cheer for her after. I can't wait to see my lil bug this weekend and get lots of cuddles. Love it!

-lil bug 6 months old!

Sweet faces...

I love my nieces!! They have gotten me through some pretty hard days over the last little while. They are such precious little girls and I am so glad my sister had these sweet faces............

Life is Precious

So within the last week a family friend has commited suicide and my Aunt Kathy( best friends mom) had open heart surgery yesterday!......NO BIGGIE or anything! So its been a very emotional few days. Make sure you hug the ones you love. Its hard to get ones brain around....I feel almost like life doesn't make sense anymore. Its hard to find happiness anymore. Whats the point? .......this quote makes a lot of sense right now, its the only thing that really does..... " There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course.Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."

My beautiful girls

There is so much joy in being an auntie, I just love it! My nieces are two of the most special little girls on the planet. Although they are sisters they are both very different. The oldest is Milana or as I call her my lil roo. Energetic is the main word I would use to describe our little blessing. There isn't a moment she misses, she is always running so care free exploring the world. She is never one without words. Sensitive is the other word that fits her so well, she is very good at picking up other peoples emotions and is very curious as to why that person may be feeling that way. I remember one day she asked me, " Auntie Missa, are you happy or sad?". I answered with, " Auntie is just a little bit sad today," which she responded with " Is everything going to be okay, after I give you a hug?". A few weeks ago her grandma on her dads side passes away and she was talking to me about it and she explained to me " We had to go to a funeral because daddy's mommys heart broke." I couldn't help but grab her and give her a big hug. Such innocence inside a blonde curly haired little 4 year old. She takes so much out of everyday life I am sure she will live one of the fullest lives out of anyone I know.

Then theres Allaya who I call little bug, she acquired that name when she was first born and was as tiny as a little bug and I just knew she would be a little cuddler. Allaya is a very calm natured baby girl, so content with many people around her, she is more relaxed than her big sister. She isn't a crier at all, she is happy and talkative. She enjoys listening to her big sister talking and singing to her. Whenever she is a little unsettled Milana will sing and talk to her and she gets the biggest smile across her face, its so priceless. She is such a simple joy to have around and cuddle!

My sweeties have been such a blessing in my life. I treasure my time with them so much.

Auntie Missa loves you girls sooo much!

Broken Hearts

So much happiness and joy but yet so much sorrow. On Monday night my sister's mother in law passed away suddenly in her sleep...........another one bites the dust. I have certainly had enough of death this year! Im almost to the point of anger, in January alone I had 3 people I know die. Then a few more recently and then this. No I wasn't super close to Mrs. Quintero but my brother in law has been part of this family for almost 12 or close to 13 years. And what affects him and my sister and my nieces affects us all. It has been a hard but blessed year for my sister and her family. The blessings being their daughters Milana and then the new little one Allaya, this has held them together as a family. Its so hard to see my big sister in tough times, I just want to take all her pain away. She is such a good mom and wife she deserves a BIG break, so higher powers maybe cut this women some freaking slack! Anyways its just been the icing on the cake, and it totally makes you see life differently when it hits this close to home. I just pray for my brother in law and big sis and their lil ones in the next little while. They are such a blessing and deserve to be blessed.

Update!

Well Its been a while since I have discussed the recent changes in my life. Let see since we last "spoke" my sister had her little girl, Allaya Violet Quintero. She was born on April 21st at 10:50pm. My sister( the trooper) walked herself to the hospital as calm as can be, while her husband was stuck at their other daughter Milana's preschool. Ironically enough making her a Mothers Day gift. So she checked herself into the hospital and he hastly made his way to the hospital after dropping of Milana at home with a friend who stayed with her while little sister was being brought into the world. I had been writing an exam and when I was finished I turned my cell phone on to find 20 missed calls and 4 voice mails(GASP!).....I was a little concerned as to what was up, my mom never calls me that much. So I phoned my sister Mary and she filled me in on th enews that Joanna was in labour. So being the dedicated Aunties and Gramma that we all are, we grabbed the passports and hopped into the car and headed to the border. We drove with a little bit of speed, and when we were about 45 minutes away my brother in law informed me via text message that `our little bug` had arrived safely. She weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces. My sister did an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G job, and we walked into the room 1 hr after she gave birth and she looked so calm and relaxed for just having pushed out a baby! I was so proud of her!

Well now she is a month and a week old, and is doing amazingly well. She is a good baby, has her moments but they all do. She is very content with her big sister and loves all the noise that the house holds. She is the perfect new addition and she fits right in like another brick in the wall of their family.
Love you so much ` little bug`!!!!! XOXO

My Roo

As I reflect on a weekend spent with all the amazing women in my family, I am amazed at how big my little niece Milana has gotten. This weekend we spent time together in Seattle for my sister Joanna's baby shower(Milana's mommy). She is expecting another precious little girl this month. And as I think about a new baby girl taking her place in our family it reminds me that Milana is no longer our baby! Don't get me wrong I am super excited and ready to love another little one but in a way it is a little sad knowing my Roo won't be the only niece that holds a place in my heart. She has grown into such an amazing "little women", the amount that girl understands blows my mind. She is such a social butterfly and is a ball of energy that rolls through life with a care free smile. This weekend we had a girls night out at a hotel in Seattle, we got a nice room and went swimming and just enjoyed each others company. As we were pulling into the hotel she said," OH I love this place, Im so excited to be spending time with all my Aunties and Gramma!".......she takes so much from everyday life! You just can't help but smile when your around her. This weekend was the last time that I will just be her Auntie Missa. And there are just a few things I want to say to my Roo even though I know she can't read this............

Dear Mila roo

The minute you were born you changed our family forever. Such a sweet little face looked up at us with love. You were never much for quiet time and always liked to be part of the action which in a big family you fit right in. You were so full of life and I have enjoyed watching you bloom into a "little women" . You say the funniest things that make happy tears form in my eyes I laugh so hard! Thanks for being such a blessing to me and making life seem so "new" everyday. I hope you know that you will not be forgotten when your little sister comes into the world, you will still be as special to me as before, if not even more.I look forward to seeing you as a big sister, as your mommy was to me. Me and your mommy were so close when I was little...she used to sing to me to stop me from crying.....it will be so special to see you carry on the big sister role. You will forever be my little Roo, and I will continuously love you!!

Love Auntie Missa

Just a moment to rant!

So as you read this you will ask yourself "what the heck is she talking about?!" But I'll leave it to your imagination cause this post is mainly for me to get this off my chest!

Life can be just rolling along and then out of no where, although you think you didn't have expectations about the certain thing that was starting to bloom so to speak.....BAM! when it goes south it makes you question if you were putting to much thought and care into it! WHY, do things like this happen....I didn't care in the first place but now that it isn't all peaches and cream you start to question if you got your hopes up to much! Thats the worst part of this beautiful life we live, why can't the seemingly good things we have work out? I keep telling myself that this said situation isn't officially over with, and that I really didn't do anything to mess it up, but this is a hard perspective to keep somedays. So if there is any good karma I have coming my way it would be great if it could intervein in this issue or else let me know for sure that it ain't gonna happen. The worst part is being left waiting and hoping.
Thanks Karma/ the rant police for letting me rant :)
Your's truly, Me!

Hello World!!

Well its been awhile since I have put some thoughts into my blog. Where to start......well the olympics pretty much took over my month of february! What a bunch of crazy fun, loved it! School is the same and work is the same....these things never seem to change. I have spent a lot of the new year focusing on me and what makes me happy and what I can do to be happier with myself. May sound incredibly self centered but what I mean is I am taking time to listen to what I really want instead of always being worried about what others want and are thinking. I have really been working out lots and eating really well so I can reach my goal in weight loss, my first goal was reached about 2 weeks ago....and now I just need to keep on going! I can't believe March has already come apon us......some exciting things are coming up in the next few months, in April my sister will be delivering a new baby girl and then my little sister is graduating in June and then we have a slew of family birthdays in the summer months. Life has took some interesting and positive turns this year and I am holding on to the hope that things will continue to turn positively.
Heres one of my favourite quotes today : " You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consist of. You will never live if your looking for the meaning of life

Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life...

How many times have we heard that, but lately this seems very fitting with all the tragedys that have been going on with family friends and even the earthquake in Haiti. Life is a precious gift and everyday we should try and laugh at least once, not hold grudges and tell those we love that we love them. Its unrealistic to say that we are going to wake up every morning happy and everything is going to be hunky dory! But we can always try to end the day with a smile and say we are going to try better tomorrow. I have found lately that you have to find what works for you, what makes you happy and not worry about what others feel about that 'thing' that works for you.....its your life, make it what you want it to be! I am going to try and think of at least one thing I am thankful for everyday....whether it be the most boring thing in the day or the smallest.
Start the rest of your life today <3

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

So today is my dads birthday and in honour of his bday I want to say a few things about him. My dad is the strongest most caring man I know! He is a father to 6 kids, and he focuses on each of them individually as a person. He is very dedicated to his family and though sometimes he may get a little overwhelmed with all the hustle and bustle of everyone he truly enjoys those precious moments with us. My dad has a humour like I do, I often find myself just sitting with him on a evening just laughing over things he has said and vice versa. One thing I will always remember about my dad is the way he tells stories or reads them...he has this special way of reading the words on the page that is content, I remember when I was little I would beg him to read to me. And once in a while even now I will ask him to read me something. I love watching hockey with my dad its our special thing that we do together. He always seems to know what to say right in those key moments, for example I will be having a bad day and he will say, " Melissa I love you" nothing more just that and I always cherish the days when he says that. DAD YOU ROCK!!! Thanks for being there for me <3

Cheers dad, may this year be a special one!

Love you, your daughter Melissa

Hard times.....better days are around the corner......

Well its been a week of heartbreak, saturday around 11am I got a phone call from my best friend and the words she said are still etched in my memory. I remember my heart started beating like crazy and I can't remember what I said next......my best friends brother had been killed in a car accident that morning! WOW talk about the unexpected. Our families are super close, they come from a big family too and we all grew up together....they had 8 kids and we had 6 kids in our family and we were all best friends with the kid closest to our age. He was the same age as my sister Joanna. I never had someone so close to me die before, and my first instinct was to go be with my best friend and just give her the biggest hug and cry with her and just be there to listen if she wanted to talk. My parents were really good friends with her parents and they too wanted to be with them. So we spent the rest of the day just sitting with them and having coffee and crying with them. Nothing really makes sense anymore it seems. I wonder if it will ever get better...and my heart keeps breaking for them:(
So heres to some answers! And lots of love and prayers for them<3
Remember to tell those you care about you love them, you never know if you'll get the chance again.