Heavy Hearts

Today we mourn the death of Glendale Police Officer Bradley Jones. He was killed in the line of duty last night.

Although he was not with the same agency as E, they had done some brief work together, and the area where he was killed butts up against E's normal work area.

This officer's death came after a day when there were 2 other police involved shootings in the Valley. In both of those cases, the officers were not injured. But it still raises the blood pressure and adds to the stress of the job.

Rest in peace, Ofc. Brad Jones. You are a hero. You will be missed.

http://www.kpho.com/story/15903464/officer-involved-shooting-in-glendale
(I posted this link instead of another one because I can't stand it when they post the officer's and the suspect's pictures right next to each other, as they did on another news site. So disrespectful...)

NOW HEAR THIS!!

It's been over a year since I've last posted...sheesh! And for the very, very few of you that have been checking in from time to time to see if I've posted anything, I'm going to make my best attempt to update things a little more often.

For the time being, however, we'll just do a recap. Because seriously, a lot happens in a year!

KRISTEN:

• Turned 5 last December
• Started Kindergarten in August
• Lost her first tooth!
• Asked Jesus in her heart!
  

EVAN:

• Turned 2 in June
• Moved into his 'big boy' bed
• Is talking up a storm

ERIC:

• Still enjoying his job in patrol, working nights and weekends
• Built a new bumper for his Scout (read: fun car project) :)

JAIMEE:

• Completed her first half-marathon in January!!
  
• Traveled to Senegal and the Czech Republic on a missions trip
• Spent time with family remembering the life of her grandmother, who went to be with Jesus in April

Together as a family, we enjoyed some time at Disneyland, a spring training Giants baseball game, a regular season Diamondbacks baseball game, some fun time in the Bay Area, survived several "haboobs", and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember at the moment.

And now - the pictures!!

After crossing the finish line of my first half-marathon!
The "team" admiring my finisher's medal.


Kristen lost her first tooth! And the new one was already growing in
before the baby one fell out.


Evan in his big-boy bed - all about cars!


The first of many "haboobs" we experienced this summer. This was
taken from our driveway. And this is an unedited picture - a little freaky!

Kristen's first day of Kindergarten


Enjoying the Diamondbacks baseball game! Kristen won tickets
at school for her good behavior!


One of the shots from Evan's 2-year pictures. Check out more on the photographer's blog.


A picture of the team I went to Senegal with, along with the family
we served, the Newkirks.


The Sahara Desert is invading Senegal! There was dust everywhere and
covered everything, including the roads!


A colorful display of items for sale in Senegal.


"The Door of No Return" - This is on Goree Island, which was one of the
main slave-sending locations on the west coast of Africa. The island
is now a museum in memory of those sent to the western world that never
returned to their families and homes.


One of the main purpose of our trip to Senegal was to run a spiritual retreat
for the workers there. We led worship, spoke at the conference,
and provided all the meals for the team of almost 60 people! Which, naturally,
led to the shredding of A LOT of cheese!


This is Marilyn, and below, the Vaughns. These people are dear family
friends who work in Senegal (the Vaughns have known my parents since
high school, I think). My church in California supported these people
when I was growing up, and they were quite literally the people who came
to my Sunday School class to talk about the exciting lives they lived
in Africa. These are the people I wanted to BE when I was little!




The second part of my international trip was in Prague, Czech Republic.
Here's the view from my hotel room!


A view of the cemetery in the Jewish Quarter. Ancient and so fascinating!


My dear friend and I in Prague together.


I also had a long layover in Lisbon, Portugal (about 8 hours). Just enough
time to catch a bus downtown and walk around a bit. I still don't
know what I saw, or what's behind me in this picture, but it was a blast!
(Need to get to the library and check out a Lisbon guide book...haha.)

So that's about it! It feels good to be back, and hopefully there will be more to come - and sooner than a year from now!

Would love to hear from you! Leave a comment, just to say hi! :)

Flashback Friday: The Friday Nights That Started It All

I'm actually bummed that I've missed the last few Flashback Fridays, but this one will make up for it, I think!

Something was brought to mind this week that really made me smile, caused me to think back, and then smile some more. Don't you love those memories that are so good and so fun and such a joy to, well, remember? So this is one of my favorites. Here goes...

Eric and I met in college in Chicago, so the majority of our dating relationship was spent walking around downtown Chicago, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the city, and falling in love not only with the places we went and things we did, but also with each other. I love the city of Chicago for this very reason.

However, being that we were college students, we had little - or really, no - money to enjoy all the Magnificent Mile and surrounding area had to offer. We both held various jobs throughout college, including a bakery/cake shop assistant, a cruise ship deckhand on Lake Michigan, a coffee shop/Italian deli barista, and a doorman at the Embassy Suites in downtown Chicago. Which brings me to our story.

Eric had gotten a job through a friend as a doorman at the Embassy Suites hotel. (I so wish I had thought at the time of getting a picture of him in his uniform - the light brown pants, white collared shirt, light brown vest, long black cape for those ultra-cold Chicago nights.) It wasn't the best paying job, and he was required to work at least 8-hour shifts, which meant most of his working was in the late afternoon through the late evening. And that kinda sucked, because that was the time that we usually had to spend together.

After he settled into his job, we found the perfect solution. On Friday nights, I would walk from school to Portillo's Hot Dogs, where Eric would meet me for his dinner break from work. Still in his uniform, he would pull out a huge wad of $1 bills that he received as tips, pay for our dinner, and then hand me the rest to deposit in an account we had started together.

I LOVED the time we spent together at Portillo's. It was comfortable, the food was good, we laughed together, had some serious talks. There's just so much emotion I have wrapped up in those meetings - they were something really special. And they were every Friday night, without fail. And yes, there were obstacles in keeping our dates - there were term papers, and obnoxious hotel guests, and freezing snow and biting wind. But even if we only had 10 minutes, we still met there on Fridays.

Because of our times at Portillo's, what happened was that we started a tradition of always meeting together on Fridays, whether it was for lunch or dinner. And that lasted for many years. Eric even had a job after we got married that had him working Monday through Thursday, and with Fridays off, he would always come and meet me for lunch. In a weird way, I'm so thankful for Portillo's and the "legacy of Fridays" that it started in our lives.

By the way, that's not the only cool thing that happened at Portillo's. My parents came to visit me in Chicago one spring break, just after Eric and I had gotten engaged. In a last minute twist of events, Eric had left the country on a missions trip, so he wasn't there to celebrate with my parents and me. But during their visit, I made sure to take them to Portillo's.

Eric had already asked my dad for my hand in marriage, but had somewhat jokingly also said that he wanted it in writing. We were laughing about that while we had dinner at Portillo's, and my dad, being my dad, whipped out a Portillo's napkin and wrote on it:

"3-8-97

I Kelly Locke authorize and approve you, Eric Roy, to marry my daughter, Jaimee Locke"

And then he signed it.

And I framed it.

Flashback Friday: Who Do Your Kids Look Like??

I've never been very good at being able to tell if a child looks more like the mother or father - unless it's overly obvious. I have always known that Kristen as a baby looked EXACTLY like Eric did when he was a baby. And I kinda always thought that Evan looks like Eric, too.

That was, until I happened upon this picture of myself at 1 year old:

Now, aside from my Sesame Street 70's dress, I can't help but see the resemblance. You? Cracks me up... :)

California Vay-Cay!

When you are offered a chance to attend a family wedding in Northern California in August, and it takes you away from the desert and 110 degree heat, what's NOT to love?? So we hopped in the car and took a drive. Of course, there was no reason to hurry things, so we stopped for a day to meet up with my parents and my sister's family in Disneyland.

All the grandkids with Papa and Grammy

Once we made it up to Northern California, we celebrated my uncle's 60th birthday with a pool party. Guess who's a little water baby?

The following day, we kept the party going by celebrating the wedding of my cousin, Roger, and his beautiful new bride, April. Here's a photo of the whole family in attendance (we're over on the left side).

Kristen was so excited to be at her first wedding, and she couldn't wait to see the bride and give her a hug and a kiss!

Even Eric and Evan partied!

After all this excitement, my sister and I decided to take all the kids to the beach for some fun in the sun. The girls had a blast digging for sand crabs.

Man, I love being in Santa Cruz! One of the things I miss most about "home".

Well, that, and THIS place. Couldn't POSSIBLY have left Santa Cruz without stopping here! I got a big ol' scoop of 10-20. What's YOUR favorite?

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, spending time with wonderful people in a wonderful place. (Can you tell I enjoyed myself??)

Flashback Friday: A Fun New Addition!

Flashback Friday is here! Each week, check back to see what fun, exciting story or photo I'll dig up and discuss. Who knows what you might find!

This week, to start Flashback Friday off on the right foot, I thought I'd start with something simple. To give a complete history of how Eric and I met would make for a very long post. BUT - showing you a picture of what we looked like way back when we were dating would be fun, no? So here ya go:

This was probably taken in 1995 or 1996 in Chicago, where we met while in college. Eric was a meat-and-potatoes loving boy from Ohio, and I was from the other side of the United States, a non-political, non-vegetarian, born-and-raised Northern Californian.

Our college had a great social program called "Bro-Sis", where a men's dorm floor and a women's dorm floor were paired up. Usually this just provided you with people to sit with at meals in the dining hall or for hanging out on the weekend. But this pairing was how Eric and I met. After several months as a part of a large group of friends, we started hanging out more together. He would walk me home from work in the evenings (so I didn't get mugged...haha). I helped teach him how to do his own laundry. It was fun and easy getting to know each other, and we explored the city of Chicago together. Walks along Navy Pier, hamburgers at Mr. J's, people watching along the Chicago River. The city holds so many memories for me and is a place I still love to this day.

Our 3-year dating relationship was not always roses and candy, though. We had some really rough patches - many months spent apart, family pressures, and Eric even broke off our relationship at least twice. But in February of 1997, while I was supposed to be writing a term paper on Buddhism, we took a drive, ended up somewhere in Wisconsin, and got engaged in a pet cemetery. Yes, you read that right. That in itself is a great story that I'll have to share sometime! And looking back, 12 1/2 years after getting married, I can see how every little memory has meant something so special even now. Those are moments that I will always treasure.

So a flashback? Yeah, maybe. But to me, I see it as another memory to add to the pile - another chance to remember how it all began...

25 Things I Know Now as a Parent

Through some of my usual blog-stalking, I came across THIS amazing! post, and decided to create my own list. So here goes:

1. It's okay if you admit to your kids that you don't know something. Half the fun of that is getting to look up the answer together.
2. Never underestimate what your children will remember.
3. Create the mood for your family. If you stay calm and positive, chances are your whole home will be, too.
4. You can never have enough "tiki music" dance parties in the living room.
5. Sometimes love really is all you need.
6. Naps can make all the difference, even for parents.
7. If you've said a lot of no-s, try a few yes-es.
8. A ream of paper can be the best present ever!
9. It really is possible to be woken up at 5:30 every morning and still survive.
10. My children are not miniature versions of me. Each is so uniquely their own person.
11. Having a mini survival-kit (crayons, paper, etc.) for restaurants or doctor's offices can save the universe.
12. Watching TV is okay, and can even be very educational (especially during summer "hibernation" in the desert)!
13. If you overreact, especially in anger, apologize.
14. An outing to the dollar store when your kids are young can be as exciting as Disneyland.
15. Even if you've seen Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid 100 times each, watch them again - because your child loves them.
16. No matter what you go through as a parent, someone else has been there, too. Don't be afraid to seek the help or advice you need.
17. Asking a child why they just did something never, ever produces a satisfying response.
18. Hearing my kids make each other laugh can sometimes bring tears to my eyes.
19. Your intuition of how something should be done is a better guide than everyone else's opinion about it.
20. Hugs and I-love-you's will never go out of style.
21. Time with Daddy is just as important as time with Mommy.
22. Celebrate every new skill your child learns. One of those skills may turn into a passion.
23. Listen to your kids. I mean, REALLY listen. They deserve it.
24. One small compliment can make a HUGE difference.
25. Write down and cherish all the words your kids still haven't mastered (hangamer = hamburger, hostable = hospital). Before long, you won't be hearing them anymore.

Feel like you could make your own list? I'd love to see what YOU know now as a parent. Have fun!