Saturday, February 22, 2014

Time with My Gramps

It's always so great to spend time with my grandparents. My grandpa has struggled with Emphysema for years, but last summer also got hit with west Nile virus. This took him down and he almost lost his life. In fact many many months we thought he was not going to make it. This was in August of last summer. But here he is still fighting strong and still the will to live is stronger than the virus or emphysema in his body.  I treasure each visit, each conversation, and every hug with him as if it could be the last one. I just love to hear his stories about life, and every single time we always hear one that we have never heard before!! He is a fighter and a hard worker. Still is a contractor who builds homes and sells them. He has one he is working on now. I think his work gives him purpose too. Yes he works and he is 94 years of age. Pretty amazing right? I know I have written about him before, but it had been a while since I have had an update!! 

Always tell your loved ones how you feel, listen to their stories about life...Grandparents especially have so much life experience and we can learn a lot from them. So take time always..just take time..

Bay's Ski Trip!!

For the second year in a row Bailey has had the opportunity to go on a fun ski trip with his buddy and his family . This year His buddy's dad took them all on a total boys trip!! This year was Steamboat Springs Colorado!! He has become a very good snow boarder. This year bought himself a go pro and has a ton of fun making fun video's of his jumps. As a mom makes me a bit nervous when i see that he was going 46mph down the hill!! ugg..But I am so thankful for this family that always includes him in the fun !! Love my son and the great little man he becoming. Time goes fast and I am realizing that he only has another year at home before he graduates from High school. God time goes too fast!! 


His view from the condo! Breath taking!!
And here is the whole crew!!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Valentines Day !

Sorry a little late!! I forgot I took this picture and forgot to post it on Valentines day . Life gets busy ! SO any how..I hope you all had a great v-day!! Gracie thought she would dress up for it!!

Daughter Brag- First Formal Dance

I have to say that doing my daughters make up and fixing her hair about choked me up many times as she was going to her first formal dance. Just happens to be she is dating a boy that lives in my home town (yes long distant relationship).  She was attending a dance that I also went to when I was exactly her age!  The two of them looked great together and had a fun time!! Here are some fun pics we were able to snap quickly before the two of them headed out. And yes I was up pacing until midnight until he brought her home :-) What else is a mom suppose to do!!






Monday, February 10, 2014

When no one is there, HE IS !!

Something I never really talk about is back in 2006 when I was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor.  I had treatment for it that was to kill the tumor and keep it from growing. It was a success.  The location of it was too risky to have open brain surgery.  Since then, I have to get the occasional MRI check up on it. This time it has been 3 years since I have had one. Tomorrow I will go in and see how everything looks. No matter how much time passes by, I still get scared, nervous, and very emotional when i go in.   This time is also different because it will be the first time I will be going in by myself and all alone. I guess I have to remember that although I would love to have a friend by my side, God will show up even when a friend won't!!

 If you are reading this and believe in prayers, I do ask that you keep me in yours.  I pray all looks great and that this tumor would shrink.

Friday, February 7, 2014

4 things husbands don't tell their wives

Article courtesy  http://davewillis.org/ 

 In case you haven’t discovered it yet, when God designed men and women, he made us different.
I’m going to give you ladies a rare peak into the mind of a dude. Granted, we’re all different, and I’m not trying to make broad generalizations that all men and all women fall into specific little categories, but as I’ve talked with men from all over the world, I’ve discovered that these principles seem to consistently hold true.
If you’re a woman reading this, understanding these insights will give you a deeper understanding for your husband and your marriage. If you’re a man reading this, be aware of these potential weak spots in your communication and strive to share these and all issues openly and honestly with your wife.
couple in bed not talking
Photo courtesy of ShutterStock.com.
These are four messages many men struggle to clearly communicate to their wives:
1. We’re afraid to tell you when we’re afraid.
Many of us were raised that any form of fear for a man was a sign of weakness. Rambo never got scared. Dirty Harry never got scared. We’re not supposed to get scared. Of course, those are fictional characters and real men face real emotions (including fear), but we’re usually very bad at communicating it because one of our greatest fears is that you would see us as weak. 
2. We often feel like we don’t measure up.
Most of us are grew up with dreams of growing up to be an astronaut or professional athlete, but most of those dreams didn’t materialize. I struggle just to make the roster of our church’s softball team! Many of us are carrying around wounds of deep-seeded failure from our past and our present and we don’t know how to communicate about them so we try to hide them instead. These insecurities can often drive us to overcompensate by throwing ourselves into our careers to find achievement and “success.”
3. We think about sex even more than you think we do.
Many of the times our minds are wandering and we seem distant, we’re thinking about sex. We wish we could free up that mental energy for more productive things, because we could probably cure cancer with the amount of mental energy that our sex drive consumes. We tend to value the sexual aspect of our relationship so much that for right or wrong, we’ll often measure the overall health of our marriage on the frequency of what’s happening in the bedroom.
4. You’re our best friend.
You probably have a bunch of girlfriends that you confide in, but even though we’ve got “buddies” to share our hobbies and sports conversations, it’s rare that we have a true friend who really knows our hearts. We lean on you more than you realize for companionship and true friendship.

A Fathers Words to His Daughter...

I read this on the huffingtonpost.com web site, and really feel it was a great read and had to share this story.

Dear Little One,
As I write this, I'm sitting in the makeup aisle of our local Target store. A friend recently texted me from a different makeup aisle and told me it felt like one of the most oppressive places in the world. I wanted to find out what he meant. And now that I'm sitting here, I'm beginning to agree with him. Words have power, and the words on display in this aisle have a deep power. Words and phrases like:
Affordably gorgeous,
Infallible,
Flawless finish,
Brilliant strength,
Liquid power,
Go nude,
Age-defying,
Instant age rewind,
Choose your dream,
Nearly naked, and
Natural beauty.
When you have a daughter, you start to realize she's just as strong as everyone else in the house -- a force to be reckoned with, a soul on fire with the same life and gifts and passions as any man. But sitting in this store aisle, you also begin to realize most people won't see her that way. They'll see her as a pretty face and a body to enjoy. And they'll tell her she has to look a certain way to have any worth or influence.
2014-02-06-makeup.jpg

But words do have power and maybe, just maybe, the words of a father can begin to compete with the words of the world. Maybe a father's words can deliver his daughter through this gauntlet of institutionalized shame and into a deep, unshakeable sense of her own worthiness and beauty.
A father's words aren't different words, but they are words with a radically different meaning:
Brilliant strength. May your strength be not in your fingernails but in your heart. May you discern in your center who you are, and then may you fearfully but tenaciously live it out in the world.
Choose your dream. But not from a department store shelf. Find the still-quiet place within you. A real dream has been planted there. Discover what you want to do in the world. And when you have chosen, may you faithfully pursue it, with integrity and with hope.
Naked. The world wants you to take your clothes off. Please keep them on. But take your gloves off. Pull no punches. Say what is in your heart. Be vulnerable. Embrace risk. Love a world that barely knows what it means to love itself. Do so nakedly. Openly. With abandon.
Infallible. May you be constantly, infallibly aware that infallibility doesn't exist. It's an illusion created by people interested in your wallet. If you choose to seek perfection, may it be in an infallible grace -- for yourself, and for everyone around you.
Age-defying. Your skin will wrinkle and your youth will fade, but your soul is ageless. It will always know how to play and how to enjoy and how to revel in this one-chance life. May you always defiantly resist the aging of your spirit.
Flawless finish. Your finish has nothing to do with how your face looks today and everything to do with how your life looks on your last day. May your years be a preparation for that day. May you be aged by grace, may you grow in wisdom and may your love become big enough to embrace all people. May your flawless finish be a peaceful embrace of the end and the unknown that follows, and may it thus be a gift to everyone who cherishes you.
Little One, you love everything pink and frilly and I will surely understand if someday makeup is important to you. But I pray three words will remain more important to you -- the last three words you say every night, when I ask the question: "Where are you the most beautiful?" Three words so bright no concealer can cover them.
Where are you the most beautiful?
On the inside.
From my heart to yours,
Daddy

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Bragging on my Son







So proud of my son. He has really become a great snow boarder this year. His favorite things to do in the winter. He put this video together and I really happen to think it is pretty darn cool !!

Monday, February 3, 2014

Feeling helpless....

I know we all hate it when our kids are not well. Its a terrible feeling. Seems even worse when you go to the Dr and still leave with no real answers except well try this, or try that, or here are some drugs to try. This past week I have had it with going to Dr visits. My oldest Amanda struggling with migraine headaches for a while now and after MRI coming back clear, blood work clear and Imatrex not working for her. I went to see another Dr.  After the visit we left with 2 new prescriptions. Perscriptions that were not even explained to me, and I was not even told what the Dr was wanting to put her on.  One of the perscriptions the pharmacy would not release because they felt they needed more of a reason from the Dr to even give it to us and the other drug she prescribed  had 2 pages of warnings on it that he told us to be sure to read on.  Needless to say we are opting out of giving her this medication that seems to have way too many warnings and side affects listed with it. This could affect her long term and I don't want that. So with that we are back to square one in trying to find her answers for her headaches. We are leaning to try Chiropractic care and see if that may help.

Then my little Gracie is struggling with Hives. We are not sure what brings them on, but this morning she woke with them all over and really bad. Never seen such a thing. So into the Dr again for her. To leave being told to not use just benedryl but to use Zyrtec too. Both over the counter.  So now we are home and they are still not better. I ache for her and I feel helpless when I can not just make both kids better. Is it just me, or are there others out there that feel like we have to do our own digging to find answers for medical things. Weather searching google, or webmd.com , seems parents more and more have to self diagnose. I guess that is why they call this "Practicing medicine" , because they are really practicing!!!  
 Never seen hives so severe before!! Breaks my heart an I just pray these meds will help by morning!


So if you are reading this tonight and believe in the power of prayer I am asking that you please keep them both in your prayers! Right now this mama is about worn out with worry!!