Kelli Rocha's Blog » Sierra

Zucchini Bread

Kelli Rocha — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:00:06 +0000

With our abundant harvest, Sierra was inspired to try her hand at baking zucchini bread today. She loves to bake. She even talks about one day opening her own bakery and calling it CeCe’s Sweets. She looked up a recipe on the Internet, doubled it and baked 4 delicious loaves. The entire batch required 3-1/2 zucchini so we still have plenty left over for other recipes.

Dinner with Karen

Kelli Rocha — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:00:10 +0000

Tonight we had dinner with our dear friend Karen Wright. (One of my favorite people, at one of my favorite places… BJ’s.) Karen is always a lot of fun and full of energy. Karen is a big fan of my kids and always has a kind thought and word for them. It was fun for Sierra to celebrate turning 21 with this lady.

Party Bus

Kelli Rocha — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:00:31 +0000

To celebrate Sierra’s 21st birthday, we boarded a party bus and drove to several trashy bars in Modesto. Steel was recruited to be our designated driver and did a great job getting us to and from each destination. We met up with friends at each of the stops who came by to wish Sierra a happy birthday. We had a schedule, but we didn’t stick to it very well. This picture is in front of our first stop, Nino’s and was taken by one of the kind patrons. We had a great time but Sierra was a bit disappointed that she didn’t get carded.

Sierra’s Room

Kelli Rocha — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:00:26 +0000

This is my view of Sierra’s room when she’s away. I keep the door open and walk past it several times a day always to be reminded of what’s missing. When she’s home she keeps the door shut (mostly to hide her messy room) but when she’s at school, I keep it open waiting for her return. Today is her 21st birthday. While it is a major milestone in someone’s life, it’s not necessarily the birthday that you look forward to spending with your parents. I didn’t get to see her today and that seems very strange. She stayed in Chico to celebrate with her friends. We’ll postpone our festivities until the coming weekend. Instead I thought a lot about 1989. Sierra is the age I was when I delivered her and our lives couldn’t be more different.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change a thing about my life, but I’ve always hoped for an easier road for my children and so far, so good. I married at 19 and had my first baby at 21. While it worked well for us, it’s not the easiest way to start a family. It is so much wiser to finish your education and to be a bit older and more mature before marrying and becoming a parent. Sierra is almost finished with her third year of college and is on track to graduate (with her first degree) next spring. She has really set herself up for success. One of my favorite quotes is, “Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid” and Sierra has been anything but stupid.

No one has directly changed my life as much as Sierra. Becoming a parent was a transformative experience for me and it defines who I am. My whole life changed in an instant and all for the better. Every thing, every one, every moment was preparation for that event. While I consider my marriage my most significant relationship, being a parent is my most important responsibility. I know that God will never give us more burden than we can bear. He knows I can’t handle much, so he’s given me tremendous children to raise who have always been more blessing than burden.

Sierra’s Gift

Kelli Rocha — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:00:18 +0000

I was sharing this blog with a friend the other day and he pointed out (quite correctly) that I didn’t have nearly enough pictures of my beautiful daughter on here. It is not that I prefer Steel over Sierra, it’s just that he’s around a bit more. He is my favorite son, but she has always been my favorite daughter. Having Sierra away at school makes her out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. We talk (or text) everyday and she is a breath of fresh air when she comes home to visit.

Yesterday, she surprised me by coming for the weekend and bringing my birthday gift. (A fantastic cake stand.) One of Sierra’s greatest talents is “gift giving.” She is the most thoughtful person when it comes to buying gifts for others. Unlike her mother, she always picks out the perfect, meaningful gift for the people she loves. She pays attention to what each person likes and dislikes and always finds something that is special to the individual. It is an extension of her kind heart and the love and affection that she has for her family. Sierra always blesses us with her presence and her presents.

College Visit

Kelli Rocha — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:19:35 +0000

We had visitors from Chico State and Sac State this weekend. Chelsey, Chelsea and Tyler came home with Sierra on Friday afternoon just in time to see the Hilmar HS Homecoming parade. They take their floats really serious in Hilmar… and their parades too. From there we made our way back to Central for the games against Gustine. Not quite as exciting as our game against Sutter (the last game the girls saw) but fun none the less. We celebrated our friend Alexis’ birthday after the game at BJ’s and I’ve discovered a fantastic new dessert (Pizookie.) Yummy!

We love having her home and it’s extra special when she brings her friends.