Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Most Amazing Easter Week EVER!

Talk about the perfect time of year for Miracles!!! And boy do I have a doozy of one to share!!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Talia has been living in California since January. Well after being denied visitation once I finally was able to see her over last weekend. I so missed her but the minute she was in my car, it was like she had never even left. I love that she and I are like that!
Well over the last month we had decided to fight for custody instead of just more time. Let me tell you how everything changed..........
As hard as it has been I have tried to be supportive of Talia wanting to be in California. She really felt by going that the relationship with her dad would improve. Sadly she was discovering it was actually getting worse in some ways. She missed me terribly and was angry with him for making it so hard to see me as well as other teenage issues. Well I had stopped asking her if she was sure she wanted to stay until one morning when I could not sleep. I could not get thoughts about her out of my mind. I kept thinking that more time was not what we should be going for. Figuring that Talia was still in the same mind frame as before, this frustrated me further. The more I stewed the stronger the feeling.
Well Talia happened to start texting me that same morning asking me really funny questions about the papers and what exactly I was asking for in them. So on a total whim I told her we had changed our mind and were now fighting for custody. And that I could just not allow all the things that had been happening to continue. Her dad needed to know how wrong it was. And that it had consequences. And to my surprise she agreed! LOL I sat there in confusion and asked her if she was sure and what had changed her mind. She said I was right, it needed to stop and she was ready to do what it took.
Well I proceeded to call my attorney and talk to her about what the steps would be and the cost of doing the custody battle instead. If we were going to do it now was the time.
I then spoke to Mark and told him if we did this that I would happily get a job anywhere to help with it. He agreed as long as I did that he was fine with the decision.
Now the only issue was the job. I had been looking for months. There was nothing that would be worthwhile especially with daycare expenses, so it was a total leap of faith when I called my attorney back and said GO FOR IT!
Now here is the cool part. Within in minutes of getting off the phone with my attorney, I received and email from a company that I had worked at before. They were hiring for the census for 14 + an hour. I immediately posted my resume that night. The very next morning I was sent tests to perform to see if I was eligible to continue with the process. 5 minutes after I had completed the tests, I received a phone call for an interview. During the phone interview I was offered the job as team lead which pays over 15 an hour. And she asked me to come in for the paper work and a final interview the next day. I was offered the position of team lead and accepted it the next day.
I could not believe how everything fell in to place the minute we had made the decision about Talia. I knew then it was meant to happen this way.
So now fast forward to the present. All was going fine. We were waiting for her dad to be served the weekend I had her but it didnt happen. So we figured any day after she got back he would receive the papers. Well instead of a call from my attorney, I received a phone call from Talia's dad. I was a little hesitant to take it. I was grateful at the moment I was busy so he had to leave a message. Well then he sent a text...." You need to call me now. I promise you wont regret it." then "If I were you I would drop whatever you are doing and call." So I called
WOW!!!!! WOW!!!! He was right. I could not believe what I was hearing. MY daughter, the one that said in a million years she would never tell her dad to his face how she felt, did just that!!
I did not even know what to say. In some ways I wanted to jump up and down and hoot and holler, but I also knew her dad had said something that was incredibly difficult for him to do. I was scared to even speak. I didnt want to say something that would in any way rub it in or sound unsympathetic. We talked for quite awhile. I think he needed it. Not sure how much it helped but we shall see. He essentially told me what ever I send he will sign. Never thought I would hear that. He said she doesnt want him to fight anymore. I totally felt for him. As a parent to not fight for our children seems backwards. Hopefully the relationship between Talia and her dad will improve and strengthen.
So long story short!!! My daughter will be home on Thursday!! I will have my whole family together more than it has been for so long. Im sure there will be moments as with any family that we dont see eye to eye! I dont care!! Being a mom is the best thing I have ever been given the privilege of doing!
I want to thank all of my friends and family for all the prayers and all the ears that listened to the never ending drama!!! While I dont think it will ever truly end. It has just been decreased significantly!! And eventually it just might go away all together.
Prayers are answered! The End. This is total proof! And it comes when the time is right. Not when you want it to come! And its perfect!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Free CRICUT!!!!

Anyone want to put an entry in for a Cricut!!! Follow this link and GOOD LUCK!!!! http://womenwhodoitall.blogspot.com!!! Let me know if you win!!!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

LIFE...... well its acting just like life should!

So much has happened in the last year! Its been a year since we moved from Murray! I miss so many things about Murray! It will always be my "home". So many amazing people. I also miss my house! Especially the family room! It took so long to remodel, but it was so worth it. It was the first real project Mark and I did together! It was a perfect blend of the two of us!
We moved to Lehi and found a super cute house and amazing landlords! We completely clicked with them and it has been great to have them so invested in making sure everything was perfect! We are moving again and are going to miss this neighborhood and friends that we have made here. The bishop in this ward is amazing!!! He has been extremely sweet in working with me and my anxiety. I have a new appreciation for the Book of Mormon and am excited to rely more on finding strength with in it. Its amazing how much there is too learn even though I have been a member all my life ( well at least active most of my life) I have never really been great at studying the scriptures, that is changing dramatically because of our amazing Bishop.
We have had some ups and downs and the downs have been difficult. Marks job has fluctuated quite a bit. There was about a 5 or 6 week period of little to no work that had us scrambling to stay afloat. We made it through because of support of some great family members and friends. The most trying situation has come in the last few months. Even though issues between Talia's dad and myself never truly go away, they have escalated beyond what I thought they ever would. In January, Gabriel came to our house late one night with a letter that broke my heart. In the letter he stated he was moving to California in 10 days! He claimed it was for a job and didnt have a choice but to leave quickly. The more surprising thing was that Talia said she wanted to go. I have always supported a relationship between Talia and her dad. It has been very difficult to try and have him see that, in fact he feels quite the opposite but Talia knows the truth and that is all I care about. I desperately miss her. She is one of my best friends. Because I had her alone a lot she and I became very close. But I feel because of that she felt like we could survive the distance. Im not sure she trusts the relationship she has with her dad as much. As time has passed we are realizing things were not as he made them out to be. He never had a job and still does not have a job. The more we discover, the more it points to him just wanting her away from here and me. It breaks my heart that he hates me to the point he cannot see what he is doing to her. He has already denied my visitation and continues to be very cruel. During these times it is nice to have the support of family and friends. Unfortunately you also find out who is really going to be there for you. It came as a surprise how some family members had such a lack of empathy. Im not here to complain really, it just makes me sad.
Hopefully when we go to court in March, things will go our way and I will have no further issues seeing Talia. These 2 months of not seeing her have felt like an eternity! 15 year old girls should not be away from either parent especially their mother.
Other fun things have been going on as well. I was able to take my first "ME" trip to Arizona. It was wonderful! I saw my step mom and sister, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins! Phoenix was great the first day but damp for next few days. I was also able to go to JOES FARM GRILL. I have been waiting for 2 years to go. It was featured on the food network channel on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!! It was well worth the wait! All the produce is grown in this HUGE garden owned by Joes! mmmmmm!!!
Another fantastic thing to happen was my brother getting married! Not only did he get married but it was to one of my friends!! Nothing better than picking your sister in law! They are so happy and it has been great to have her as part of the family!!! She is amazing for being able to put up with him! HAHAHA. They will be sealed later this year!! Im so excited for them.
Ok I think I have taken more than enough space on here! LOL
Time for some pictures!!!
Hope all is well for everyone!!!
Tasha

My adorable kids taken just before
Talia left.


The Snowflake Arizona temple! Its really a beautiful
temple!!

Joes Farm Grill! If you go to the Chandler area,
make a stop here!! YUMMY

This tree is in the back of Joes! It is HUGE!!
It covers the whole sitting area!!! There is just
one catch ( refer to next picture) LOL

This sign is posted on all sides of the tree! HAHA!
Needless to say we avoided being too far under
the tree!! YIKES!