Finding Joy again....

In Taking pictures.
I have to thank Karen Russell for that!
I am taking her Photographer's workshop and am in the 2nd week. LOVE IT!
I am picking up my camera again, not for the football game, but for the everyday stuff.
I think I am almost ready to even take it out of "AUTO" mode!!!
I actually am starting to understand that I can trust myself to be in Manual mode.


Yesterday was Picture Day at School, and I just loved it when Kate asked Josh what he was going to wear....
Josh said , and I quote. " Mom, do you want to pick out what I wear for picture day"
Yes insert signing angels here!!!!
So here is what I picked.

and then Lexi had to give him puppy kisses before he left for school.
And then it is back to playing with her bestest pal Cricket!
Tomorrow we play Abington , and we are very excited! This was the one team last year that we tied with, it was the last game of the season and we were undefeated going into the game. We wanted to put that last one in the win column and just couldn't do it. So we have been waiting roughly 340 days to get this game again. The boys practiced really hard this week. 16 of our players returned from last years team. So they also want to get this one in the win column very badly.

I am slowly getting things done and in order. The Store is taking a lot of my day. It is very time consuming putting the items in and keeping the inventory. Shipping has been keeping me very busy also. It is all great and I am very happy it is doing well. Now that Josh is in school I am getting a good day routine here. So back to work I must go!

It is good to find your Happy Place.

Ah, my cup of coffee in my Starbucks mug and a few stolen minutes to write here. It is the little things in life that make it spin. Sometimes when you are going full speed ahead you miss the days of a slower pace. I do miss writing here, but I am not complaining that my life is so full of wonderful things that I don't have as much time to do so. I love my life and all the wonderful craziness it is.

It is coming up on a year since my life got a little turned upside down and sideways. A year ago I was so sad, angry and confused as to why bad things seemed to happen to me. I was crying almost everyday, I felt that I had failed. I felt very lost . I didn't understand.



Fast forward one year.........



I am not sad, I am happy!

I have a WONDERFUL Family, Kate and Josh are my rocks. They love me so much each and everyday that I can't help but smile.

I run a very successful online scrapbooking store The Corner Store for S.A.V.E. that is shipping all over the world.

I have a wonderful Scrapbooking Retreat Company Scrappin Away Vacation Events that is registering scrapbookers for the January 2009 Retreat where Lisa Pace , Mimi Leinbach , and Jen Starr will be teaching 15 different classes over the 4 days!! It is our 5th Year anniversary and it is going to kick off with a Meet the Teachers Reception on Thursday Night!

I am volunteering more then I ever thought possible. I am managing the concessions for the Football team, coaching football, league rep of the wrestling association and managing the website, getting more and more involved at Josh's school, co-chairing the Holiday Shoppe and Race for education fundraisers.



It is amazing that out of such sadness I actually found my happiness. I couldn't imagine being where I was a year ago ever again. I made so many bad choices to get myself in that situation, but am so happy I had the strength to get myself out of it. Thank you to the few that stuck thru this year with me. My true friends, you are very special to me and dear to my heart. I will never forget all that you do for me. I hope that I can continue to be as good a friend to you.



I love having a place to write my thoughts, it is my happy place!



So on to some FOOTBALL news!!!

Well the team is 5-0!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The boys are just continuing to play hard and get the job done! This week was a mud bowl. We played in that rain on Sunday. Hot showers and hot soup were in order after the game.

Lexi is doing great. Her and Cricket are now best pals and play everyday. She is sleeping thru the night and having a great time stealing flipflops and running! But with that face you can only pick her up and cuddle with her. Damn I love this little bundle of fur!!

Had lunch with my friends Julie and Sydney yesterday at one of our favorite lunch spots. It wasn't a long enough visit but it was so good to see them. Sydney is 4 and recently developed diabetes. I can see the worry in Julie's face, and she trys to hide it!! But let me tell you about one brave, brave little girl, Sydney is amazing! She is taking this in stride, she is a hero to me. She will get her Mom thru this.
One of my favorite times is when we all sit around at night and Kate helps Josh with his homework. I love the way these two interact and work things out together. Josh is learning so much this year. He comes home everyday with something new to ask me. I love it that he thinks it is all new and amazed to find out that I know the answers. Makes me feel smart too :)
This was Josh's sack in the 4th Quarter this week. He busted thru the line and got the QB, caused a fumble and drove them back about 8 yards!
Oh and this is Lexi, in all her cuteness.....
So I hope to be bloggin more, lots going on this coming month in October. We have 5 more weeks of football, Mom is coming for a visit and of course Halloween!!!

Also , I am going to bring back Giveaway Wednesdays!!!! I MISS IT!

It's a GIRL!!

Yep here is Lexi!





We brought her home last night. I saw her picture in the vet's office earlier in the week and I called Kate and told her about the picture. I had just mentioned to her days before that I was really liking the boxer breed of dog lately. Lexi is a Boxer/Pit mix. She is just adorable and I think is going to fit into our family just fine. We met her parents and they were very friendly and we liked what we saw. So now to the housebreaking and the puppy kisses.

Everyone needs a good laugh!

And this is one GOOD laugh

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

I am so thankful for writers!

Cause they can write what I think or feel sometimes much better then I can!!
I have listened, I have watched and I have just sat here and gotten very scared that woman are "relating" , " so happy to have someone to root for" etc..... I feel just like the one outside the zombie film saying NO NO Don't do it!!! But I didn't know how to explain what I wanted to say to these people. Then I got this email tonight and went YES!! Finally!!! Someone wrote the words down!!
So I will go to bed tonight and rest and hope that this email keeps going and possibly wakes some people up to what is going on.

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feministand activist best known for "The VaginaMonologues," wrote the following about Sarah Palin.
Drill, Drill, Drill
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears.Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seenone in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists. But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story-- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds,deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover.
But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately,this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.
Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as ametaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan.
She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered specieslist. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered.Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."
Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.She obviously does not believe in sex education or birthcontrol. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.
Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently.She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference.
This is a woman who could and might very well bethe next president of the United States . She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.
Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the endof separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.
I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S. , but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction.
It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is afree open tolerant society or a closed place of fear,fundamentalism and aggression.
If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC,"Drill Drill Drill."
I think of teeth when I thinkof drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt,ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.
Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone,in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Eve EnslerSeptember 5, 2008

Remember

This image still burns in my mind 7 years later. I remember sitting in bed watching the Today show and seeing this image. Still not believing the first tower scene, and then just gasping at this one. I remember Josh was still just a baby sleeping at just 19 months old. I remember watching everything unfold. I remember having to force myself to shut off the TV as it ran 24/7 in the house.
But do I think about it each and every day, I would have to say no. So today I will remember for those people that do think about it each and every day. For those families that today changed their life forever in more personal ways. For those children that might have been infants and toddlers and might have been sleeping, to wake to a changed world. I can not even begin to imagine what each of those families have gone thru these past 7 years, I can only hope and pray for each of them that the healing continues, and honor them today in my thoughts and prayers.

Today you are not forgotten.

One Proud Mama!!

Yep I was a beaming Mama on Sunday!
I am not the easiest Mom when it comes to expecting excellence.
I always ask for 110% of Josh in whatever he does.
We have many talks about the difference of playing something for fun and playing
something to be a champion. In sports Josh has big dreams and expectations of himself.
He wants to be the best, he wants to play in the NFL , he wants to play in Highschool, in
College (right down to already picking where he wants to play in college).
I think it is great to have these dreams and hopes and the drive to accomplish them.
Josh is one of those kids that is athletic enough to possibly do this , to see his dreams come
true.
So this Sunday Josh gave more then 110% , he was in on so many tackles we lost count. He ran for 1st downs. He got the job done. Yes there is no I in team and the whole team did so well, I have to give Josh his due , for all the times I drive him to do just what he did on Sunday, his job all 4 quarters of the game.
We have a great group of kids, they are all having a great time and being 3-0 on the season is making for all smiles! WTG Josh, I am so proud of you!!!
This is my other Proud of moment! Look at that Smile, FINALLY!!! I have missed that smile for so very long. It is not fake , it is not forced, it doesn't have pain behind it. I am so proud of Kate for all the hard work she is doing to get herself moving again. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks since surgery and Kate is riding the bike a mile and 1/2 on level 4 at Physical Therapy!!! She has such great range of motion , the therapist are just amazed. It is so great to see her not in pain everyday. Life is good!!

As for me, I miss my scrappy friends right now. Not that I have had a minute to scrapbook much , but still miss them. Life just seems to get more and more crazy everyday.

So today is my Lunch Duty day...I love seeing Josh during the day at school hanging with his friends. (I haven't told him I am coming today).

Ok back to work ....S.A.V.E. opens up in 6 days!!!

When did the calendar get turned to Sept?

And when did this little guy get so big and become a 3rd Grader!! I can't believe 3rd grade, he is just trucking along, growing , learning. He is my little super hero! He was less then thrilled with the approaching school year. I think more that summer was ending. But come the first day of school he marched off like a trooper and when he came home later that day he had a huge smile on his face and exclaimed that his teacher was really nice. He also has one of his buddies in his class and one of his football teammates too. So he is all set and ready for a great year.
There is the big Yellow Monster swallowing him up. It came so fast this year this was the only shot I got. Everything seems to be moving faster lately.
Here was our little bit of , life doesn't always go as planned. A freak thing happened and the car jumped out of park ( after the key was removed) and rolled down into our front lawn and ran into the poor little well house. No one was hurt, and the car is in for repairs now. Then it is off to the mechanic to find out the problem. I have since looked things up on line and Ford seems to have some issues with the transmission doing this before. Not good!
Our 2nd week of football proved to be another good one. Josh scored a TD and made some awesome tackles. He was put in a new position (Defensive Tackle) and seems to really like busting thru the line and breaking up plays. We won 19-7 and go 2-0 for the season!! This weekend is not looking good for football. Waiting to hear from the commissioner to see if we are going to have games today. Hope Hanna keeps going east.

So as we get in the swing of Sept, I am busy with The Corner Store and S.A.V.E. with Scrappin Away Vacation Events opening in 9 days for the January Event things are in full swing on this end. We have some excitement this year as it is our 5th year doing these events!! So I have invited some great teachers to help us celebrate. Lisa Pace, Mimi Leinbach, and Jen Starr will all be teaching classes at the event. I just couldn't hold out anymore, I am so very very excited about these ladies coming all at once!! I have already got some pictures of the projects and WOW is all I can say!! We will also be doing a Charity Auction and Raffle this time, I missed doing this the past couple events. So look for all the information coming soon!

Oh and READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!! Can't wait for Football Sunday!!

Coming up for air....

Breathe in .......

Breathe out.......

WOW Life can get going and put you in directions you just have to go with. Being someone that likes to be in control ( Stop snickering Kate!) , I have had to let go and let things happen. It is a big lesson to learn , but worth learning. I couldn't have got thru the last couple weeks if I didn't learn this lesson.

I have taken on a bit this summer , and a few times I was wondering what the HECK was I thinking. But when I sit back and look at things I know exactly what I was thinking, I was thinking I want to do these things for Josh and all the other kids that love the game of football and want to play. I have taken on not only coaching but managing the concessions at the football field, which is time consuming , ordering, organizing and making sure it all goes off without a hitch. Working with some parents that don't really get the whole volunteer thing, but working with a lot of parents that do, and that is what makes it great! I have met so many great people during this season, I love surrounding myself with wonderful people , people that care about their kids and that their kids have a great place to play. It is so important in their little lives to get out there and play. Learn great values, how to work as a team and to have fun doing it.

So that is the football part, then there is The Corner Store, which is doing GREAT!!! I am shocked sometimes in this day and time that things are going as well as they are. But scrapbookers have to have their supplies I have found out! I love the customers I have met over the past 4 months. I can't believe it has only been 4 months since I opened the doors on line. I was nervous to start it, but so glad I did!! The response has been just fantastic!! I love hearing from people that I have what they want and need. I have so many new items to add and plan on a BIG , HUGE , Sale in September so stay tuned!!

S.A.V.E. , We just had our August Event, I can't believe that this little idea that started in Oct 2004 just had our 10th event!!! It was such a great time , and with guest teacher Melodee Langworthy teaching her classes, so many of us left loving stamping again! I will be carrying the stamps Melodee uses in class in the Corner Store. They are now a staple in my stamp case!

We are well on the way to planning the January Event already only 141 days away!!! I have already announced the Trifecta of Teachers on the Message board and will be announcing to everyone on the Scrappin Away website very soon! Registration opens September 15th , mark your calendars.....spots are limited and will go quickly! We have some very very exciting news to reveal and let me just say.....the goodie bags will be over flowing. I am so very excited to be doing this event. It will be our 5th Anniversary year this year and I want to do it up big!

Kate is doing GREAT! Today is 5 weeks after surgery and she is already driving, been doing that for a week now, she went to work for a couple hours yesterday , not suppose to return for 3 more weeks! She can ride a stationary bike in physical therapy and is lifting 10lb weights with her legs. She has some nights where they are a bit stiff, but other then that she is doing so great! I am so happy for her and I see that smile back , it is hard to smile when you live in pain everyday, so that is worth all of it!

Josh is enjoying his last few days of summer vacation, football 4 nights a week and games on the weekend. He ran one in for an extra point in our game versus Qtown, we won 27-6 .

So I think I am caught up now...now if I could get the rest of my life caught up!!

Working on it, but as long as I am busy I will not complain. I love being busy.

Are you watching??

I LOVE the Olympics!!!

Josh LOVES the Olympics too!!

We have been camping out in the living room everynight watching the Olympics.

Kate hangs with us till about 10pm and then goes to bed.

Josh asked if we could watch every night that the olympics while they are on!

I said YEAH!

Ok so now I am feeling it as he is actually staying up to watch them. I thought he would bore with them by now. He is so excited cheering for the USA. I really love watching him as much as watching the Olympics. He is asking alot of questions and watching the stories behind these athletes. It is great for him to see these kids have been working for years to get where they are.

Josh being the athlete he is, he is starting to understand that putting 100% into each practice makes a difference. That paying attention to the coach and doing what the coach ask is what you are suppose to do. We have been talking alot about things, and being one of his coaches this year has even brought us closer. I asked him last night what he thought about me coaching and he said "It is actually pretty cool, I like having you as a coach" Well that made my day as you can imagine!

I have been putting in alot of hours to the Concession stand and coaching. Tired, heck YEAH! Worth it , heck YEAH!

I was talking to a Mom that is sending her only son to college in 2 weeks, and we were talking about how fast it goes, she told me to keep doing what I am doing , stay involved and enjoy every minute of it. She said you will be ready when they are to move on....but you will have some great memories and know you gave him all you had as a parent when they are ready to go.

So I am going to enjoy these times, I can't believe that day is only 10 years away, it really makes you think when the first 8 years have gone as fast as they have.

So it is Watch Olympics, Eat, Football, Sleep around here....and we are loving life!!

A new day, A new hope...

To say yesterday was difficult, is an understatement.
To say today was beautiful, is an understatement.

Yesterday there was a family very torn apart for the past 8 years.
Today the healing started.
On the porch of our house sat a Mom, Son and Daughter, a Brother and a Sister.

It might have taken the death of one, again way too early, but He may be just
the angel that will bring this family back together.

I have always said that Josh is the miracle that healed my family in so many ways.
So many years lost, the birth of my son and the magic he carries with him have
preformed so many miracles. Eric may be that miracle for this family. I believe he
already is.

That is how you honor some one's life, you look within and don't let them die in your
heart. Make yourself a better person, let yourself be more caring, let yourself love.

I thank the Lord today for letting me witness this Miracle!

You will be missed....

Eric Stillings June 16, 1986- July 24, 2008
It is always important to remember the good times in life, because eventually that is only thing that matters. We are saying goodbye to Eric today, way too early. I hope for eternal peace for you. Know you are loved.
This was Christmas 2007 when Eric was showing us his skillz on Guitar Hero, it was a great day and lots of fun and laughter. Those are the days we will remember with Eric, and we will think of him often.
Rock on my dear boy!! Rock on!!

It is August 5th, that much I know!

And this is the J.A.K.'s

Yes this is the new sport in our house this summer, ROCK BAND for the Wiiiiiiiiiii! I have to say it is a fun time, I do enjoy it when I get a chance to play. Josh and I Rock out on the drums and guitar! But when A and K come over the band keeps on playing! Sometimes all night long, what are summers for as a kid unless you can stay up one night till 6 am!! Ah the carefree days of summer!
and this is my new baby. Soon to be on the road every once in a while as it has insurance and registration on the way. I can't wait to go for a Sunday cruise to the Football Field in this little Red Roll! It is soooooooooooooooooooo pretty!
ah and the vacation that I still ahhhhhhhhhh over when I edit pictures or think about on a daily basis. Alaska and Seattle, it was a great time, and oh how I might need to visit a Starbucks today!!

Lot's of busy times here right now, but good also. I have been busy with Football already, Coaching special teams and managing the Snack Stand at the field has my hands full. I love volunteering for this organization, knowing it is all for the kids! Volunteering is good for the soul, and it has given me alot of opportunity to talk to Josh about charity and giving for others. He even does his part helping me stock the coolers and whatever I ask him to do.

Also getting ready for the Summer S.A.V.E. event in dare I say 15 days!!! I can't believe it is only a few days short of 2 weeks and we will be having Melodee Langworthy teaching and hanging out with us for 3 days! Her classes are filling up and we all can't wait to create these great mini albums. There are only about 6 more spots left in the Christmas Album Class so don't wait if you want to take this class. Kits are also available by signing up for the class and putting "KIT" in the notes. All Kits will be mailed when I return from the event.

Also busy shopping for all the new items that have come out of CHA Summer! I just purchased all the My Minds Eye Halloween and Christmas Lines and they will be arriving next week! Also coming are the new Teresa Collins Christmas Line, this girl has it happening! So many other things also coming soon.

Oh also just realized that only 4 more weeks and Josh will be back in school, I am really looking forward to doing a few more things this summer with him before that happens! We haven't even made it to Dorney Park yet....have to do some roller coaster riding before it all ends!

So that is about it, I hope to return to blogging more soon, I have lots of scrappin ideas going thru my head, but if I took a picture of the tornado that hit my scrapbook room (AKA , dump zone) it would hurt. Today I hope to pick at it a bit. I want to get some pictures ready for S.A.V.E. and do some great scrapbooking while I am there. Already working on S.A.V.E. in January...have 2 great teachers already lined up and hope to announce them soon. So back to work, lots of ordering to do!

Hello blog...

I have missed you!
My happy place....the one place I haven't been able to get to lately!

Kate is home!!! YEAH!!!
She is doing so well with the surgery, she is in less pain then she has been in
for a good 5 years. It is amazing how the smile is back on her face, the laughter
is back and I feel like Kate is back! Pain is an awful thing to live with day in and
day out. It really can make you a different person. So Glad to see this working!
She is walking with her walker still, but the range of motion is really improving
daily. She does her exercises every day. GO Kate GO!

We have lost a wonderful young man...and that is the sad news. Eric Stillings,
our 22 year old nephew took his own life last Thursday morning. We are so very
sad about this. He was a special guy, we had some great times with him. Christmas 07'
he spent many days with us playing guitar hero with Josh and hanging out.
Eric was a little loss in life, and needed to find his way. I hate the fact that he choose the
path he did and left this world. I hope that this loss will help those he left behind find better
paths. I hope families will heal and relationships will be restored. No one should die this young, but it is an awful feeling to feel this is the only way to be at peace.

We need to be more caring and sensitive to one another. This age of "me" generation, we tend to forget about the other people in our lives. We forget to take the time to be a friend. Everyone is so busy going in their own direction. Everyone has expectations of how you should be. Make sure you are doing what makes you happy!! Make sure you talk things out to someone, find someone that will listen....don't hold things in!!! So many emotions running thru me right now. It is so true that when someone passes you have so much to say to them. Say it to them NOW!! Don't wait. It will really be too late then.

It has opened some new doors that I was not quite ready to open with Josh. Not only dealing with death, but dealing with someone being so sad they take their own life. I am so glad that Josh has no idea how someone could be that sad. He only remembers laughing and having fun with Eric, that is a great memory. I did have a great opportunity to talk to Josh about no matter how sad or upset he is , he can always talk to me or Kate. We are taking Josh to the memorial service next week, he wants to go and be there with us. I asked him why he wanted to go...and he replied " I liked him" , it was that simple to him. We talked about how people will be sad, but it is also a celebration of Eric's life too. In which he responded.. "But there won't be clapping will there?" He has been to one memorial service before for a family friend, so he knows what to expect. He is an amazing boy.

Football season, being a coach for the first time, managing the concessions, running my online store and getting ready for our August retreat for S.A.V.E. are just a few of the other things keeping me from my happy spot. But I know it is here and I will visit it more and more as the days settle around here. Thanks to anyone still reading or checking in, Wednesday giveaways will be back in September!! If you have a minute in your day give a thought or a prayer to Eric's family and friends to have the strength and courage to get thru this tragedy.

Eric we will miss you.

Sometimes you need a little chuckle...

Got this in my email box today from a friend. Have to admit it made me chuckle a little.

Totally exhausted, feel like my feet don't even touch the ground in the morning and I am off running. Did get me some spanking new sneakers today, need to look spiffy for my new coaching position this year!!
I am the FIRST ever woman coach for the football organization, it is about time I would say!!
I will be leading our special teams, which is exciting because this is the first year we get to have special teams. Also the offensive coach has told me he would like to start Josh as QB this year. Josh is really excited about that and wants to really do well! I have been really talking to him about leadership and having to be loud on his counts. Should be a good confidence booster for him. So off to the hospital to see Kate, she did Steps today, 5 of them!!! Wahooooooo! I am so very proud of her and how hard she is working and smiling everyday. They have her scheduled to be released on Friday if everything keeps going well. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!! zooooooooooooooommmmmmmm!

10 years .....

ago today I got to marry my best friend.

We might not have been at a romantic restaurant, or had some great alone time, but we still celebrated being together.

We had Lee's Hoagies in a hospital room, Kate, Josh and myself. We were still together, and Kate is really working thru this joint replacement with flying colors. She walked half the way back to her room today from therapy....she knows that there is some wonderful stuff on the other side of all this and she can't wait to be able to walk pain free!! Keep good thoughts coming, hopefully she will be home in a week!!

Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom, support and humor. I really have a smorgasbord of great friends, and every time when I need them, they are there. Just when someone is trying to bring me down, I have alot of hands there to lift me up. Sometimes you just need to know that the net is there.

So I did alot of thinking last night, since sleep wasn't winning....and I know that I would miss what I am doing too much. I know that I will probably never become a millionaire doing what I do, but I know there is alot more reasons I do it. So I did some writing and planning over the last hours and have some new focus, new ideas and new approaches to making things happen.

I need to learn to shed some baggage in my life, I need to just let go of some stuff and remind myself more each day all the good there is. I KNOW all this, it is just making it my own. It is good to have next week to unclutter things, and get some things in order. I love hitting bottom only to find out it is rubber and bouncing back is not so hard!!

And sometimes you just have to close your eyes and PUNT!

So here is to another 10 great years with my Best friend, I hope everyone celebrates the ones they love and that love them today.....those are who matter!

Well.....

Today Josh and I went to visit Kate and she seems in high spirits.
I know she is in alot of pain, and she is trying to work through it.
I know she will.
Josh and I miss her, it is hard to not have 1/3 of your family at home.
I don't sleep so well when she isn't home.
Josh sleeps just fine!
Can't wait till Kate isn't in pain anymore because of her knees, it has been
a long road with the pain.
Today she walked 7 feet on her own! Not even 24 hours after surgery.

All this alone time gives me alot of time to think, it is very quiet here.
Thinking is not always a good thing.
Evaluating things, thinking if I am going in a direction I want to continue.
Knowing life is good no matter how much it hurts in some areas some days.

Questioning if I want to continue in the Scrapbooking Industry.
Do I want to pursue new things.
Is all the work worth it.
Wondering if I would miss it.

I know I am exhausted right now, knowing I should not make any major decisions.
I won't. But will continue to think about everything.

Loving spending alot of time with Josh, even through the "Have to be the Mom" moments.
Love watching him "get it" when we have talks about life , present and future.
He told me he wants to go to Layafette College today, he has really enjoyed Football camp this week, I think we might be going to some home games this year, it is a beautiful campus....and nice and close to home.

Hope to get some rest soon.

Football season is coming!
I am excited to be coaching this year.
It will be great to work with the boys.
I can't wait to get on the field.

Life is good, thru it all, Life is good.
Hope to be back to blogging again soon, I am so glad to have this space to give it all up to.

July 7-16

ok so this is how life moves.

Time flies.

Vacation to ...

Wrestling camp with 4 friends all week. Remember I am used to having 1 boy!

Wrestling tournament

Football Camp

Running a busy online store

40 days out from the August Retreat

Kate's surgery today

ETA....Kate is out of surgery with two new knees!!! She is looking good and resting. Tomorrow she gets to take them for thier first test run. It was a little stressful of a day, but glad she is ok.

So what gets left off the list....my blog, my happy place. I have missed this ole spot. But I will be back, with so much to share. So that is where it is at. Thank you to all that have reached out to me over the past couple weeks, I got the sweetest email the other day from a dear, dear friend and she just will never know how much that meant to me, sometimes you forget that there are people that truly care about you.

So until next week when I will have a few minutes to sit down and visit all those things buzzing around in my head....

Home!

I want this for Dinner tonight!
Yep we are home.

Exhausted!

I got a nasty head cold in Seattle and it is kicking my ass now!

Really should take a picture of the luggage still sitting in the Dining room.

So if an airline charges you $25.00 for your bag of luggage, don't you think

they should remember to put it on the plane, and not leave it in Phoenix??

I miss Alaska!

Only gained 2 pounds, extra boxing tomorrow.

Wanted to take our head waitress home with us, she was da bomb!

Ok off to take 5 boys to wrestling camp each day this week.

Hope this head cold goes away really quick!!

Still absorbing the past 2 weeks, I hope my words can do it justice.

Happy 4th!

He looked so handsome, but fell asleep at dinner, this was the beginning of him getting sick. Poor little guy, but he did look so cute!
This is our view from the Space Needle, WOW that is high up there! Mom even made the trip up with us.
This was our dog sled ride, it was amazing seeing these dogs work. I wasn't so sure how I felt about dogs working this hard, but I have to say, these dogs want to run, want to pull. They get so very excited, it is really amazing to see.
Josh conquering the rock wall on the ship. Very cool!

My Picture of the day from Seattle!! Just loved this shot!

So we are about to watch fireworks from our hotel. We have a perfect view from what we are told. We have one more day we will spend in Seattle tomorrow and then we leave to start our flights home in the late afternoon. We are going to pack in a few things in the morning and visit Pike's Market also. We are going to take a water taxi across the bay tomorrow too. I haven't done that since I was in Hong Kong.

This vacation, has been so much, so much I can't even put into words yet. The pictures don't even tell the story. I hope to scrapbook this, I know this trip will always be in my heart, and I would LOVE to do this again. There are so many things to see here, you could never do it just once. Alaska will be one of those places for me.