Good Afternoon!!  Sorry I haven't been around for a while but, as most could tell from my previous blog, things have been hectic around here & in our family.  Here is the latest:

The family met for dinner Sunday night at PFChangs in La Jolla for a going away dinner for Morgan.  As ya'll know, Morgan is my hubby's brother's son & he got his orders to go to Kuwait.  He had a week to prepare, that's it.  Plus, he is in the California National Guard, not the military, per se`...so we are still at a loss to understand why they would send the National Guard over there, shouldn't the National Guard stay here to protect the citizens since the majority of servicemen are all overseas??  If someone could enlighten me on this, I would be so appreciative!! 

Anyway, Morgan & his fiancee` Jenny love PFChangs & that is where he wanted to go so that is where we went.  For the most part, none of us had ever been there before & it was very nice.  In fact, Tim & I have made a promise that the next time WE go out to a nicer restaurant, this is where we want to go.  There were 17 people in our party.  Of course, Tim's parent's, Jenny's Mom & Grandmother, Morgan & Jenny, Kevin & Laurie, Kelly (Morgan's other Aunt), Mike & Lynda, their children Lauren, Emily, & Mikey, Jr.  Lauren's boyfriend Craig, & Tim & I.  The only one missing was my Ryan and he would have come but, he had to work & the notice he needed to give wasn't long enough if he had wanted the night off.  He did feel bad & has promised to write Morgan or e-mail him as soon as he can.

Mike & Lynda are old friends of Kevin's who have been around since Morgan was born, and I had not seen Linda since we moved in to our home, 13 years ago!!  It was good to see & talk with her...she has changed a lot in 13 years, the most has been because she & Mike no longer live together, although Mike is over at their home most of the time & refuses to see a lawyer or sign divorce papers, which Linda wants, or so she said to me.  She & I have never been what I would call good friends but we have never been unfriendly to each other so it was nice to share time with her.....which kept me from crying & spoiling the evening.

Morgan looked incredibly young to me that night.  He & Jenny were arm in arm the entire evening.  I did tell that they got engaged before Thanksgiving, didn't I??  Well, I thought for sure they would end up getting married before he shipped out....but, I guessed wrong.  Tim & I did get to meet her Mother & Grandmother for the first time, they seemed very nice.  I do not know the story of her Father but suffice to say he has never been involved in her life....he could be deceased for all I know. 

At any rate, we had an incredible dinner & a wonderful time.  When we got ready to leave, we all gave Morgan great big hugs. He seemed to be touched by the outpouring of affection for him, perhaps a tear or 2 was shed.  I did my best to hold up, although I found out later as my MIL & I spoke while walking to our cars, I was not the only one emotional.  You should know that my MIL tends not to show her emotions.  She is steadfast & resolved.  We do not gossip in this family nor do we show any jealousies, hard feelings or discord.  Every gathering is supposed to be upbeat & wonderful.  We never bring people down, we always have a positive & supportive outlook.  It is with that knowledge that I had fear that my emotions would show through.  I even asked Tim what should I do if I start to cry??  He told me to be myself, I didn't need to hold back if I couldn't, though I sincerely tried.  Then, I find out that my MIL was falling apart inside!!

She & my FIL have raised Morgan & in reality, Morgan is their third son.  While Kevin may be his biological Father, that really is about all Kevin has done for Morgan.  And, Morgan has been pretty lucky.  He grew up in a home that was affluent, both Grammy & Papa were always there, & anything & everything that Morgan needed or wanted has been provided for.  Had he actually been raised by his parent's or even his Dad & his current wife, Laurie...I doubt whether he would have had the enrichment that was so generously provided by his Grandparent's.  His biological Mother, Theresa....lives in Missouri & has 3 or 4 other children.  Morgan used to go every summer for a few weeks to visit her, at his Grandparent's expense, I believe.  I have always been curious as to how Morgan has felt about the situation, as his Mother wasn't raising him but had other children that she was raising but I assume that the parent's had something to do with that.  I had previously blogged that Tim & I asked to have Morgan come live with us....but, Kevin stopped that.  We never pursued it. 

At any rate, Tuesday came around rather quickly & although Ryan & I expressed that we would like to see Morgan off, logistically, we were discouraged by my in-laws.  I guess they didn't want a lot of people being there & initially, even Jenny wasn't going as she had class, or so I was told.  I am sure she had class but, considering the turmoil we are in with Iraq I doubted whether any professor would give her trouble about missing class to see her fiance` off to war.  And, lo & behold she went after all.  Here are some pictures that my FIL shared with me:

This is Morgan.  He just turned 20 on 12/27/03.

This is the family....from l to r:  Kevin, Morgan, Jenny, Mom & Dad.

This is Morgan, Laurie (his step-mother) & Kevin.

This is Morgan & Jenny....he is about 6ft 3in., she is less than 5 ft tall & really tiny!!

When they got to the place where he needed to report to, he found out by surprise that he was getting a promotion!!  I don't know what he was or what kind of promotion he got, but he got one!!  Good job, Morgan!!

So, Morgan is off to a Guard Camp near San Luis Obispo first, then on to Fort Lewis in Washington State for 3 additional weeks of training.  He is in Military Law Enforcement, & we have been told that he will be guarding POW's when he gets to Kuwait & the war is going on.  We wish him good luck as he goes on his way & pray for his safe return as soon as possible although we have also been told that he could be gone for as long as 2 years.  I hope & pray that we never go to war & at most, he gets additional training & a free trip to Washington State to see the snow!!  From my lips to God's ears!!

In other news, nothing much is happening here.  We are getting geared up for the Super Bowl.  We are staying home....Tim will BBQ some ribs, I am making potato salad, we plan on making some Fuzzy Navels!!  Just a low key happening.  Neither one of us drinks much & going to Kevin's will involve a lot of people & a lot of drinking...plus afterwards we would have the long drive home.  Not this time.  Ryan has to work until 7pm, so we will save him dinner.  I feel bad that he won't be able to watch the game but I think some friends are going to visit him at work & are bringing a portable TV. 

In case you were wondering, we are not Raider fans but, being a representative of California, I guess we will go with the Raiders.  I think this is gonna be one hell of a match-up, though!!  I do find it hard to believe that the Raiders are even in the Super Bowl considering the Chargers were ahead of them at one time in the season.....but, that has always been our experience with the Chargers....they usually blow it at the last.  I am not a fair weather fan like Tim but, I am disappointed since they looked so promising, oh well!!

Well, I guess that is all I know for now.  Please keep Morgan in your prayers as well as all our other "boys" that are being put in harms way.  I don't want to get political but, I certainly think there are alternatives to what we are doing & I think the world is letting us know that (ie. the UN, France, etc.) 

In the meantime, have a great day!!