Santillan Adventures!!

Thank you for posting all this beautiful pics and ...

2012-05-21T07:18:23.085+09:00

Thank you for posting all this beautiful pics and vids of totoro, y love it!!!

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P.S. I sometimes have that same reaction (look on ...

2010-08-20T01:28:13.072+09:00

P.S. I sometimes have that same reaction (look on my face) when dealing with your father-in-law.

I can't even express how happy I am to see you...

2010-08-20T01:26:06.498+09:00

I can't even express how happy I am to see you blogging again (even if I just now noticed). Your blog is the only way I can keep track of my babies while they are so far away. I can't access Facebook at work, not to mention that I don't even know how. Randy (your aforementioned father-in-law) however, is a pro at Facebook. I'm thinking I need to get a kid to help me set up my own page, then teach me how to use it. I may join this century yet!

Anyway, I look forward to more blogs and pictures from you. I love the pictures!

Love,
Dena (the BEST mother-in-law ever, trust me)

I just have to say that your haircut is spectacula...

2010-07-27T02:38:34.050+09:00

I just have to say that your haircut is spectacularly adorable. And I make funny faces regarding my father in law as well. We should start a support group. Love you.

I apologize for waking you up. I didn't know y...

2010-01-04T23:46:24.811+09:00

I apologize for waking you up. I didn't know you had to work the night before. I was trying to kill time while sitting in a gas station with other snowbound people in the worst blizzard in Oklahoma since the 1800's (seriously!)Luckily, we were rescued by family after about 4 hours and were able to be together with everyone on Christmas Eve like we hoped. So it was the best Christmas ever here. The only ones missing were you! But, we hope to join you at Christmas in 2011!

Wow Tara you look so pissed in this picture, LOL! ...

2010-01-02T03:39:32.753+09:00

Wow Tara you look so pissed in this picture, LOL! (Mom)

Robo-MicMouse has an antenna...

2009-12-30T13:04:08.156+09:00

Robo-MicMouse has an antenna...

Taraaaaaa!!!! Why haven't I talked to you in f...

2009-12-16T12:36:35.147+09:00

Taraaaaaa!!!! Why haven't I talked to you in forever?
Also cool nails or whatever blah blah

Glad to hear that your medicine is finally startin...

2009-11-18T22:08:22.937+09:00

Glad to hear that your medicine is finally starting to work. The pictures are all awesome. Food looks yummy. Please send the recipe.

Hopefully things will only continue to improve.

Love you guys,
Mom (or mom-in-law)

Checking out your blog after welcoming you on Okin...

2009-11-17T15:58:08.232+09:00

Checking out your blog after welcoming you on Okinawahai.
So funny, in the picture of you with the cool violinist my daughter is on the side of your picture. So funny!
Great blog by the way!

Those do look pretty fantastic. I'm sure Davi...

2009-10-24T14:00:49.174+09:00

Those do look pretty fantastic. I'm sure David would eat the hell outta them if he got anywhere near them. :D

Hi Tara, This is Kathy, Mommy O'Brien's yo...

2009-10-11T11:30:20.785+09:00

Hi Tara, This is Kathy, Mommy O'Brien's younger sister. Thanks so much for making your 100th blog so special. I was in the city today cheering on my niece, Laura, as she walked in the Avon Walk for the Cure. What a truly inspiring and humbling experience to see men and women walking for those who can't - some survivors themselves. A few walkers were wearing halos as they remembered the "angels" in their own lives. Patty was a guardian angel to so many people and I'm so happy to hear that she impacted your life as she did for so many others. She was truly an amazing woman, sister and friend and I will miss her every day but reading these great stories that you guys are sharing means the world to me and my family. Honor her memory by remembering the good times spent with her as we will all remember her courage and strength and always her sense of humor. Thanks again for sharing your stories - I hope you dance!

Hi Tara - This is Eileen, Patty's big sister. ...

2009-10-09T09:47:25.843+09:00

Hi Tara - This is Eileen, Patty's big sister. I have to thank you for beautiful tribute. Today was a very difficult day for me and reading this made me laugh and cry at the same tim. Patty was a very special person to all of us, she was always there when we needed her, most of the time even before we even knew we needed her. I know she'll always be with us and Michelle's right she wouldn't want us to overwhelmed with grief. She will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for making today a little easier.

Tara, Thank you, it makes things a little easier ...

2009-10-09T05:28:17.962+09:00

Tara,

Thank you, it makes things a little easier knowing how much our mom meant to people.

Dan

Dearest Tara, Thank you for writing this, for wri...

2009-10-08T12:02:29.566+09:00

Dearest Tara,
Thank you for writing this, for writing about the impact she had on your life. The fact that you remember those things amazes me. At the time, those things didn't seem like a big thing, but they obviously were.

Don't feel guilty about not saying thank you or coming to see her. She knew you were thankful. You can't drive yourself crazy by thinking about things you should have done. You'll never deal with things that way. Just trust that she knew you were thankful and she understood that you were busy planning your wedding in May.

This entry made me laugh and cry simultaneously. I think what made the whole thing easier for me to deal with was the fact that I had watched what she went through the past year, namely over the past few weeks. I felt emotionally retarded at the wake and funeral. I was hardly crying, but again, I think this was because I saw what she went through and I knew that she wouldn't want me to cry. She suffered a lot; so much so that in her words, "I would never want to see my worst enemy go through this." When her time came, she was at peace. I want you to realize that. She really was suffering, in every sense of the word. She would NEVER want us to be overwhelmed with grief. I have complete faith in that. I'm not sure if I told you about this, but the day after she passed away, I was sitting in my living room, waiting for my dad to get ready so we could go to the funeral home and I randomly thought of an article in the newspaper she clipped years ago and stuck on the refrigerator. It was an anonymous poem called "Don't Stand at My Grave and Weep":

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there
I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle Autumn rain
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds
In circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there
I did not die

I hope you find some comfort in that.

Thank you, again. I hope you're doing alright.

<3 Michelle

Awww, that's giving me a cavity that's so ...

2009-10-07T00:14:27.237+09:00

Awww, that's giving me a cavity that's so sweet. I was just experiencing the same exact thing as you a few days ago and sad to say Dave wasn't as cool about it as Dustin. Maybe one day after we've been in Germany a few weeks and I still can't stop crying he'll be sweet like Dustin. A girl can only hope.

P.S. Thanks for making me cry first thing in the m...

2009-09-23T21:50:36.776+09:00

P.S. Thanks for making me cry first thing in the morning when I am just getting to work. Nothing like ruining my make-up for the rest of the day! Just kidding.

I wanted to tell you that I have read all 99 previous posts and I truly appreciate all that you do to keep me (us) included in and updated on your lives. As I've already told both you and Dustin, I couldn't have picked a better wife for my son or a better daughter-in-law. When Daulton gets married, sometime WAY in the future, his wife will have to live up to a lot. You've set the bar high in the expectations that I now have for my other kids' future spouses. That's probably not a good thing. Too bad for them!

Love you,
Dena (mil)

Although I wasn't fortunate enough to know &qu...

2009-09-23T21:40:51.274+09:00

Although I wasn't fortunate enough to know "Mommy O'Brien", she sounds like an awesome woman. I hope that I've touched someone's life at least a smidgen of how she touched yours. You are very lucky.

Unfortunately, I know it's hard to lose someone close to you. Remember the good times and continue to share those memories with others. That's the best way to honor someone so special, by never forgetting them.

Don't feel guilty for what you weren't able to do. She doesn't sound like the kind of person who would want you to feel badly. I'm sure if she's as awesome as you say, she understood and forgave you already.

Tara, my thoughts and prayers are with you and Michelle's family. What they say is true, time does heal all wounds. That's not to say that you will ever forget her, but in time, it will be easier when you speak about and remember her.

Love you,
Dena (mom-in-law or mil as I like to say for short)

I will always remember all the amazing memories we...

2009-09-23T13:54:59.487+09:00

I will always remember all the amazing memories we had with her. I think my favorite was when I came over to help Michelle set up for a party. I decided that I'd help fill the water balloons and Mommy O'Brien said, "just don't make a mess." Well, what's the first thing that happens... the balloon overfills and bursts all over the kitchen. I remember she just looked at me, shook her head, and then walked away laughing hysterically. That was a great day.
Oh and then when we found out that my mom had dated her brother back when they were all in high school... that was interesting lol
There are countless memories that I could talk about, but when ou mentioned cheesecake I cried yet laughed at the same time, because i remember how she would always make sure she had cheesecake for you and her famous potatoes for mary. =)
She really was an amazing woman and I will never forget her. She'll always be my second mom and she'll always be in my heart <3

Dustin your car needs about 1200 dollars worth of ...

2009-09-19T11:45:12.472+09:00

Dustin your car needs about 1200 dollars worth of service work done to it. We need to know if you bought the extended waranty or not. It had a recall on the water pump and got the visor fixed. They say that the vibration you feel and is causing your tires to wear bad is the tie rod bars or something in the rear of the vehicle and cost like 650 to fix unless you got the extended waranty

Thats not that bad, you big baby!

2009-09-12T11:26:25.312+09:00

Thats not that bad, you big baby!

You are such a suck up!!!! Hey it was a great tim...

2009-09-12T05:49:01.017+09:00

You are such a suck up!!!!
Hey it was a great time in New York, I am so proud of Dustin that I never say it makes me wonder how proud of him, he knows I am. You guys are great together and keep it that way.
Love, Dad

I will check out Mickey Rooney on your intense sug...

2009-09-04T12:38:50.094+09:00

I will check out Mickey Rooney on your intense suggestion!

You should post a picture on thisiswhyyourefat.com...

2009-08-28T03:16:28.544+09:00

You should post a picture on thisiswhyyourefat.com

New camera! Hooray!! Happy birthday btw guurrllll,...

2009-08-24T01:57:05.179+09:00

New camera! Hooray!! Happy birthday btw guurrllll, call me sometime!