Steven & Motoko

Steven and Motoko


Steven & Motoko

This is my nephew Steven and His Wife Motoko
on their wedding day. They live in Japan. where Steven
heads his school and teaches English to his students.
I was unable to attend this wedding but my sisters
that went took photos for me and told me what
a beautiful wedding it was.

I became close to Steven and his brother
Brian when I lived near them.

I have come to see Steven grow up into
a very self confident and passionate person
both qualities of his parents, I always knew
what ever path Steven took would lead him
to excel and make a difference in peoples lives.

Steven is a person I love to listen to when he speaks
my nephew is such an elegant speaker. and I hope to
hear more of his speeches in my life time. I learn something
from him every time we chat on line or when I see him
in person. I also love the fondness he and his brother have
for my children.

Motoko has been in the family for a while prior to
she and Steven getting married. Though I have not
had the pleasure of getting to be close to her, She is
a beautiful young woman who I have come to adore
and I think she is the better half of Steven.
her English is getting better each time I see her
and she is a great addition to the family.

as stated in my Jeanne blog Steven and Motoko
are expecting their first child in the new year
and I can not wait to see photos and video
of the new member of our family when he/she arrives.
and when I get to meet the little one it will be another
great moment in Auntie Debs life.

Far Away

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations
I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty
believe in them and try to follow where they lead
Louisa May Alcott

lighthouse

The Light house

when the storms of life are raging
like an angry sea
waves of turmoil and confusion
crashing,endlessly

Battering your hopes and dreams
till no more can you endure
raise your eyes and you will
find waiting on the shore
a lighthouse standing for you
against the winds and rain
shining the beam of friendship
to guide you through the pain
and calm will surely follow
with beauty and with grace
soothing ...ebb tide
everything in it's place
Sharon Langan

Hudson

Hudson's parents Brian and Jen opening his gifts






Great Auntie Debs and Hudson

This is my newest great nephew Hudson
he is such a sweet joy and is the light of
his parents eye not to mention his NANA
Jeanne.

I also feel a special connection to him
Hudson is a miracle child. his
coming into this world mirrored a lot
of what I went through in my journey
to become a mother. Dr. told my Brian
and Jen that they could not have children
and they believed the Dr. I was once told the
same thing and well Beautiful miracles do happen!


(future blogs on Hudson to come!)

Peace

photos taken by Kiel in Ashland, Or

The comfort and sweetness of peace
after the clouds, the sunshine
after the winter,the spring
after the shower,the rainbow
for life is a changeable thing
after the night, the morning
bidding all darkness cease
after life's cares and sorrows
the comfort and sweetness Peace
Helen Steiner Rice

The Breakfast Club

Carol, Dorothy,Yolanda, Minnie, not pictured are Lori, Sharon, Deb
Linda,Barbara

This is only a few members of what we call the "Breakfast Club"
five more are missing.when I worked for curves I met these lovely ladies and we gather
together for breakfast when it is one our birthdays. The birthday girl this past Friday was
the lady in the dark yellow shirt her name is Minnie. and she turned 78 years old! she has survived a battle with breast cancer, and the loss of two husbands, but still has the strong heart, sharp mind, and energy of a teenager! I keep telling her I only hope to have the energy she does
when I am her age! These ladies are so much fun, they tell jokes, and keep you informed on
the happenings of our home town. they all moved over to the new gym, When I left curves
they said it was because it was not the same with out me and my partner Lori
we say they wanted to join to see the young men work out!! they will tell you
well it is good exercise for their eyes!!!

gotta love em

Still Pool

only the still pool reflects the stars


this Chinese proverb is one of many that I like
of course( I know that it means a still pool of water
from a stream,etc) but this was as close to a still
pool as I could get yesterday. I thought it was
good just to reflect my thoughts upon.
can't see any stars but it is a still pool!

Tia & Tio's (Aunt & Uncles)

this is a photo of my Unlce Joe, Aunt Terry, Uncle Vincent



The above photo was taken at The 1st Enriquez Family reunion
I managed to get my only remaining Aunt and Uncles of my mother's
family together for the picture. ( note: my other
remaining Aunt Dora is not in the photo)

I remember all of my Tia's & Tio's ( Hispanic term
for Aunt & Uncles)My Mom took care of most of
her siblings her brother's John, Manuel, Larry, Peter
(all have passed) my Uncle Vincent is the survivor and my
aunt Genieve is also passed, then my grandfather remarried and
had two more children my Uncle Joe, and Aunt Terry
My Aunt Dora was my grandfather's adopted child.

As many of you have read my Aunt Terry is battling
Pancreatic Cancer she just started her treatment and
has a positive outlook we pray for her everyday. I have hope
and faith that the miracle will happen and she will beat this
cancer.
this reunion is where I started to reconnect with my
aunts and uncles. as a kid I remember visiting them and
then once my mom passed we kind of drifted away I would only see
them at weddings and funerals.

the reunion brought us all together again not just
my aunts and uncles but cousins. this reconnection is great because I
love spending time with them because they are my mother's kin.
and when we are together they still talk with such love and respect of
my mother and the other's that have passed.

my Aunt Terry loves family gatherings and her husband says he married her because
he knew she was a good tamale maker!! at Christmas time she makes three
different kinds of tamales for her family mild, warm,very hot.
my sister's and I helped her plan the 2nd reunion we had.
Unlce Joe is a charmer! with a big heart, and Uncle Vince is a quiet one
but when you sit and talk to him he makes you feel very at ease.

when I spend time with my aunt and uncle's I get a warm
feeling and I know my mom would be pleased.

Taylor Swift & Me

Taylor Swift & me 6/07

I saw this young artist 3 times in a two month span
she was one of the opening acts when I saw Brad
Paisley in concert in May and then she performed
at a concert Kiel and I went to at the beginning of June,
Then Kaitlyn and her best friend Emily
convinced me they had
to see her perform in Fresno so:

I thought it only fair that I got to have my picture
taken with country singer Taylor Swift the same night
I took Kaitlyn and Emily. so now I posted it !

as stated before I had a blast taking the girls
to see this young lady. she is up and coming
and I hope this lady stays as sweet and down
to earth as she seems to be, I wish when I was
her age 17, I would have been musically inclined
and have the talent that she does! (well I am slowly
learning the guitar)
not only did I get my photo but I also got
her autograph.
Memories to keep in the scrapbook!!!

it was a thrill, I can say and have proof
that I have met to celebrities in my life time
Ms. Swift being one the other Tom Selleck!
(that is another Blog!!)

Jeanne

This is my sister Jeanne and
her husband Shoji and their sons
Brian and Steven, of course
since this photo their family
has grown she now has two daughter's
Brain and his wife Jennifer had a son
of their own in April, so Jeanne is
NANA and Steven and his wife Motoko
are expecting their little one in the
new year.

In a previous blog I stated that Jeanne's
flower to me is a wildflower, not just
cause of their beauty but because
wildflowers have a free spirit and
my sis Jeanne has always been that
and has shared that spirit with
all that come to know and love her.
It is one of many qualities that
I admire about her.

Jeff and I became close to Jeanne's
family while we were stationed in
Los Angeles. She was there every step
of the way to guide me when I was
expecting Kiel.

She is Kaitlyn's GODMOTHER and
has included Kiel in that capacity
as well, She is known as "Auntie Nina"
to them and they adore her so.

Jeanne is very artistically talented,
another quality I admire, she enjoys making
jewelery and is great on computers, and
she is an AWESOME painter, I recall a certain
pair of Levi's that Jeanne painted on
(era of the hippies and my sis was a special
kind of "beatnik" ) those Levis were there own
kind of "sisterhood of the traveling pants"
I unfortunately never got to give those Levis
a try, always wondered what became of the ol blue
pair.

Another admiration is Jeanne's Passion
she has a passion for her Life, for her family
a passion for her beliefs, is strong in her
convictions.

I love when we talk, I enjoy when we visit
I Love seeing how much her eyes light up
when she talks about her sons and grandson
I respect what a great Mother she is to her
sons,they are the most caring men I have ever
had the pleasure to know and their sense of family
comes from their Mom.

I want to Thank my Jeanne and her family
for being such an inspiration to my children

" The Spirit produces- Love, Joy, Peace
Patience, Kindness, Goodness,Faithfulness
and Self control"

When I think just of that I think
of my sister Jeanne.

Us

This is us taken for Kiel's 8th grade graduation
that was 4 years ago and this coming may of 2008
we will be taking another photo but it will be
his high school graduation how the years Fly!



This is us with Mom & Dad taken at my niece Erin's
wedding 2 years ago of course everyone
has gotten a little older and
wiser!

There is a little saying I like that when I look at
these photos I think of it is:

"To understand your parents love
bear your own children"

Jeff and I have learned that
from both of our parents and
of course with trail and error

and we have of a lot more to learn
as the years Fly by! but so far
we have done a good job

so what ever may come
I think we can handle it!

Father And Mother I Love You

It all started with a Father and Mother and 4 children
and the circle grew and continues to grow.

On May 1st, 1983 I became a member of this family
known as the Turner's
at first I was scared I was the new kid in
the family by marriage would I fit in? I wondered
I fit in alright being apart of this family
became one of the best moments of my life.

I love each of them dearly I don't think
of them as " In Laws" they are simply
Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister's,Niece, Nephew
and I to them am simply
Daughter, Sister, Aunt,

my family gives me something that
I thought was lost when my own mother passed
a sense of belonging ( of course I had that
with my immediate family) but this was
something I needed to balance the sense of loss

My Dad (Jim) has a big heart and would do anything
for his family, he is a great b.b.q. man of a stack
of ribs (the family loves his ribs and he says he
would make Paula Proud! if you watch cooking channel
you'll get what I mean.

My Mom (Maxine) is a family oriented person
who loves having her family around when they
can, even if it is at different times.ideally
it would be great if we were there all at
once one day we will be.
she and I share the whip humor wisdom
of the character Maxine! it always feels
good to chat on the phone with Mom.

My Brother Jay ( James Jr) not in the wedding
photo is a very intelligent man, he has a passion
for so many things and he is interesting to chat with

My Sister Janna- she is single and lives in Idaho
I am proud of her she is a survivor of a bad marriage
she is strong and I love her so.
She has two adult children
Erin who's wedding we were all at in the photo
lives with her husband Jacob in Georgia
what a weekend their wedding was Jacob graduated
college and they were married the next day!
it was a great weekend they have been married
2 years now and I love Erin and Jacob a great deal

Janna's son Brian (not in the photo) lives
in Kingman, Az near Mom and Dad and Granny
he works in a hospital and is
a loving father to his children

My Sister Janine is Married to Terry they live
in Escondido, Ca I am proud of her too, she and
I are 6 mo apart Janine earned her master degree
two years ago. Terry is retiring from the Navy
they have three children.

Ridge is the oldest and is studying to be
a firefighter

Chase is the middle child and he is a month
older than our Kiel and will graduate high
school this year.

Lauren is the only girl, she is a sweet
girl and loves to play dress up.
I am told she enjoys a
good ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins
yum!!

and then there is Jeff(not in photo
cause he took the photo) retired after
20 years of service in the Coast Guard
and of course he is married to me
we live in the central valley
of Ca with our Kiel and Kaitlyn

we are all in different places
but one thing remains constant
we keep in touch when we can
we are there for each other when
need be.

I am so blessed to be apart of
this family for these 24 years
and look forward to all the blessings
this family will have to come.
if you read the title closely you
will notice it spells out
FAMILY.

Grandma & Granny

Grandma & Granny


Kiel and Kaitlyn are blessed in the fact that on
their father's side they still have their Grandma
Maxine and her Mother Their Great Grandma
Thelma" Granny"
Grandma Maxine is the only child of Granny
and they live near each other in Arizona
we don't get to see them as often as we
like because it's so far but when
we do it is a fun peaceful relaxing
bonding family time out in the desert.

Granny shares with us her stories of
growing up in Oklahoma and we are
fascinated by the family history in those
stories. granny is a week younger than my
mother. Jeff says they called her granny
because she reminded him and his siblings
of the Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies
show. and if you met her in someways that
is so true!!

Grandma gives us a lot to She has a
love for her family she enjoys all
of the family around the table
and no matter what time of day it
is there is always plenty of good
home cooking! she enjoys reading
and has created a beautiful garden
in her desert yard. she sees the
beauty in nature.

I am glad that Kiel and Kaitlyn
have gotten to know and still
have these ladies in their life
we love them so dearly.

To be Yourself

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" To be yourself in a world that is constantly
trying to make you something else is
the greatest accomplishment"
R. Waldo Emerson

The above Photo is from the Crucible
Kiel found out last year that he had a hidden
talent and passion for acting! In his
sophomore year he just did the behind
the scenes stuff this year he acted in both
fall and spring productions. of course I
enjoy watching him on the stage and am
glad he is so well rounded, I can see why
Kiel and is Aunt Eva share the passion
of seeing and talking about plays.

I am glad that Kiel is being who he
is in this world as it is, my Kiel is
very thoughtful and intelligent
and loves to talk to people of
all age, and race he is just
a well rounded caring young man
and his father and I and sister
couldn't be any prouder of him
soon he will be starting production
for the school play Alice in wonderland.

pondering

This is Kailtyn and she took a self portrait with
this saying. Kailtyn accepted
the Lord in her life on her birthday last
June I am not sure when she took this
photo but I thought it was a good one
Yesterday Kaitlyn went to a Adventist
Camp week to give her testimony to
let people know that their scholarship
fund for Christian education makes a big
difference to those who thirst for it
I came across this verse and
thought it to be appropriate for this blog.

"Strong Christian's aren't necessarily strong people
they just know who to run to"

I may not be adventist as my daughter
but I feel I gave her a bit of
root to flurish in her vine with the Lord!

who you are

"Who you are today is a product of
what you did yesterday,
Who you are tomorrow is a product
of what you did today
make every second count"
(Christine Jean-Bauptiste)

MARY MARY

I just wanted to give you an update
on Mary

I spent the whole day with her she is doing better
still fighting that infection in her leg
but because of the anti biotic for the leg infection
she developed a very bad yeast infection in her mouth!!

poor lady as she stated she got her heart fixed and now
the rest is falling apart!!!

I just told her it is the healing process

I enjoyed the day we talked and had a good
visit her blood sugars are still a bit low
but we are working on that

Eva & Kiel came home this afternoon
from Oregon they were tired from their
long train ride and all the late night
fun they had this past week

glad they are home, they really enjoyed
each other's company

Failure & Falling off the First Step!

" Failure seldom stops you, what stops you is the fear of failure"
Jack Lemmon

Okay, I tried to go back to school, I admit I had
great intentions of succeeding & taking that first step
this time out but that was before
I let my emotions of failing take over and
my fear of math! funny cause I use math everyday
by measuring when I cook, balancing a check book
but for some reason Pre Algebra and I just don't get along!
math as I was taught in school is very obsolete it is
a whole new language that I can grasp the concept but

I can't explain it, and of course I was not expecting
Mary's situation to happen either but life does go on
and good things happen to those who wait , I will
be starting a part-time clerical job for a charter school
that I really wanted at the end of the month I applied for
this job last Jan.

perhaps in the spring I can once again take that first step
if not there are other ways I can continue my education
and finish it may not be right away but it will be something
that I do in my life time, heck I may end up being the
oldest college student there is !!!!

another great quote :
by Lao Tzu
"People usually fail when they are on
the road to success, so give as much care
to the end as to the beginning"!

whatever road I am on I am sure
it will lead me to where I am supposed
to be.

With Faith

For Every disappointment
that ever comes your way
there also will be happiness
upon another day

Sometimes there will be failure
in things you try to do
but with both faith and fortitude
success will come to you

When life appears it's darkest
and clouds obscure your view
you know that you are bound to find
the sun come shining through

the faith that you possess in GOD
is never placed in vain
it will sustain and be your guide
life's finer things to gain

PRIORITIES

" Real Priorities in life are :
LOVE, FAMILY,FRIENDS"

I have always believed in the above little quote.

I am still dealing with my mixed feelings
but am doing better. My Kiel called me
this morning from Oregon, he and Eva are
having a great time. Mary gave us a bit of a
scare on Saturday her blood sugars would be
normal then drop extremely low to about 50

My sis Linda is a medical assistant so she
was monitoring Mary's sugars and spent
the night with her, we were afraid that
if Mary's sugars stayed that low and she
fell asleep she would fall into a diabetic coma.

Linda kept a good eye on her and Helen
called her Dr. and she got through the night
ok, I visited her today and her sugars today
seemed to be doing well at least not like Sat.
Mary has to see her Heart Dr. tomorrow Helen
is taking her and will ask the Dr. about the blood
sugars and infection her leg is looking a bit better.

On Friday My sister's Helen, Jeanne, Linda
and myself decided we would hold off on telling
Mary my Aunt Terry's prognosis because we did
not want Mary upset anymore than she was about
her infection, Today Mary asked me about Aunt Terry
so with Helen there I told her about Aunt Terry
Mary asked me to get the phone and call Aunt Terry
so she could talk to her I did, and my aunt seemed to
be in a little clearer state of mind as one can be in her
condition. Mary informed my Aunt that our family
will pray, and keep nothing but positive thoughts
for the both of them.

with that said
yes, truly I believe
priorities are
LOVE,FAMILY,FRIENDS

Mixed Feelings

Today I am feeling a whole mixture of feelings
good feelings, sad feelings, mixed emotions

let's start with the good feelings, I got a part-time job
for a charter school today so I feel good about it I am
looking forward to starting it, I had lunch with some
nice elderly ladies from curves it was great to see
them

I am missing Kiel today he and his aunt Eva
went to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakesphere
festival they will be back next Friday I know
he will have a great time I am trying to get
my self use to him being gone for when he
graduates this year and heads off to college

Under Sad feelings Mary found out she
has an infection in her leg which is
dangerous for someone as she who is
diabetic and has had the bypass
we are keeping a close eye and
she is on antibiotics so hopefully this
will get better quickly and not turn
into any kind of a setback.

I am even sadder today because My Aunt
Terry was told she has about a year to live
due to her pancreatic cancer she was diagnosed
with earlier this week
how can Dr,'s just tell you that you have only
a certain amount of time on this earth?
especially when she went to them for over
a year with symptoms saying something was
wrong with her body and they treated it
like nothing was wrong or it was all
in her head, a person knows their body!
I saw my aunt on the 4th of July and
I could tell she was worried about what
she would hear today but she enjoyed
all of us being together and we had a
good visit.

when she gave me the news we cried.
as stated in an earlier blog
when I was a little girl my aunt
kind of scared me and I did not
see her much but she was always
there for my family.

when I moved back to Ca
and attended a family reunion
we started to get close to each
other and I got to know her kids
and grand kids, that reunion made
me reconnect a great deal with
my mother's remaining brother's
and sister's My aunt is big on
family gatherings and has always
invited my family and sister's families
to their gatherings. Today when she
asked for us to pray
and for me and my sister's to make
sure we come around and know her family
more, I said of course so I am asking any
fellow bloggers who read this please keep
my aunt Terry in your prayers I have seen
first hand what the power of prayer can do
for the human soul of a person with cancer.
aunt Terry will start with her chemo and
radiation this week I believe.

my mixed feelings are just that a mixture
of what has been going on in the family
for the past three weeks, Mary, Aunt Terry,
school, I have decided since I got my job
I will put my fall semester on hold
for now.

I have had the same kind of symptoms
my aunt has had and I am a high risk
for ovarian cancer and uterine cancer
due to me taking a great deal of infertility
drugs and I just got to thinking how would
I handle this if it were me? I am not sure
I keep telling myself depending on what
stage it is I would do chemo if it is in it's first
stage but then I have told my husband and kids
that beyond that I would rather enjoy the quality
of life with them than the quantity. a lesson I learned
from my brother and other people with cancer I have
known, keeping positive thoughts.

what I know for sure at this moment
is that I love my family those in heaven
and those here on earth and I feel very
blessed for all that I am related to
and I will always be there for my aunt
terry.

Freedom

Happy 4Th of JULY


I came across this old poem and I found
it poetic for today.

I watched a flag pass by one day
it fluttered in the breeze
a young man saluted it and
then he stood at ease

I looked at him in uniform
so young, so tall, so proud
with hair cut square and eyes alert
he'd stand out in any crowd

I thought of how many men like him
had fallen through the years
how many died on foreign soil
how many mother's tears

how many pilots planes shot down
how many died at sea
how many foxholes were soldiers graves
no freedom isn't free

I heard the sound of taps one night
when everything was still I listened
to the bugler play and felt a sudden chill

I wondered just how many times that taps
had meant Amen

when a flag draped coffin of a brother or a friend
I thought of all the children of the mother's and
the wives of fathers, son's, husband's with
interrupted lives

I thought about a graveyard at the bottom
of the sea
of unmarked graves in Arlington

NO FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

please keep our loved one's serving
in your prayers

blue

Blue is a pretty color
blue is also what I have been feeling
this last week and weekend, I don't exactly know
why?, Things are better with Mary she is progressing
well day by day, as it should be.

Friday we celebrated my husband Jeff's birthday
quietly as he likes to do, and Saturday we went
for a long drive in the country another thing
Jeff likes to do, then I got a call that my aunt
Theresa(Terry) was diagnosed with Pancreatic
Cancer! I knew for over a year she had been complaining
of pain and not feeling like eating that much but her
Dr.s said it was acid reflux, she was medicated and lived
with the pain and weight loss like I said for over a year
while her Dr. went on vacation she took all her test results
to her Husbands Dr and he did a few more test and called
her in for a biopsy and well now we know the rest.

I spoke with her late Saturday and she is going to beat
this thing. we talked about a great deal of stuff, as a kid
I was never really close to her till a few years ago
I started getting to know my aunts, uncles,cousins, and their families
all over again which has been really great!

so though I am blue I guess it is because I feel
the family circle is being tested once again
I know we will all be there for aunt Theresa no
matter what cause as stated before our family is
a circle of strength and love