For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Thursday, March 24, 2011

My Third Sister

After we were married, my husband and I didn't wait very long before trying to start a family. We both loved children.  Less than 2 years after we were married, we figured it was time.  God figured it wasn't.

A year and a half later, I was finally pregnant!  We were overjoyed!

Three months later our joy turned to anguish after an early miscarriage.

We were in the process of building a house at the time, so we focused on that and kept trying.  By the following summer, the house was nearing completion and there was still no baby.  We were happy about the house, but very discouraged otherwise.

It was springtime and the house across the street from ours was done.  Our neighbors-to-be had moved in and we noticed they had a beautiful little girl!  One day the mother came over to introduce herself to me.  Her name was Linda, her husband was Ron and their little girl was Katie.

By the end of our first conversation, we were both in tears.  I had poured my heart out to her and discovered they had struggled to have children too.  I left that day feeling comforted, knowing we were meant to be neighbors. 

Over the past 23 years, Linda has done so much for me.

She was always there to listen and comfort me until our first child was born 3 years later.

She rejoiced in the birth of all of my children.
This picture is from my first baby shower.


She provided much needed support and advice during the early days of motherhood.

She took care of Adam when he was a baby so I was able to go back to work part-time.

She has been a mother to all of my children.  She is "Aunty Linda" to them!

Here she comforts Kerry on the first day of school in 2nd grade,
      bringing a smile to a previously tearful face.

She has been my consultant on paint colors, carpet choices, and was a huge help last year when we renovated the kitchen.

She has lovingly cared for our pets, even when I knew that dogs were a little out of her comfort zone!

She has given me strength during times that I really needed strength.

She is ALWAYS there for me.  I can tell her anything and know that I won't be judged.  She understands how I feel, maybe even better than I do myself!  She lifts me, encourages me, gives me confidence. 

Everyone needs a friend like Linda and I am so fortunate.

Someone said "Best friends are the siblings God forgot to give us."

I already knew.  Since our first conversation back in 1988, she has been my third sister and always will be!


















Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Color Me HAPPY!


I LOVE COLOR!

Color just makes me HAPPY!

I love ALL colors.  I don't have a particular favorite.
But I tend to have a particular affection for BRIGHT colors.  

When I scrapbook,  I find it hard not to use a splash of bright color on my pages. 

My love of gardening is based on my love of color.

And color is so important in photography.

Did you know there is something called Colorstrology? 

To explore Colorstrology to find your personal color,  go to

www.colorstrology.com

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PANTONE is considered the worldwide authority of COLOR. 
The PANTONE Name is known worldwide as the standard language for accurate color communication, from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer, across a variety of industries.


Check out this new hotel in Brussels  -  The Pantone Hotel  -  so cool!



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 A really useful website that explores colors and color combinations is
      kuler.adobe.com




 On the Kuler site, you can explore so many different color schemes or make color schemes of your own.  This is very useful when redecorating a room!  

But one of the coolest things Kuler does for you is this:

Upload a photo to the Kuler site and it will give you a color palette based on your photo!

For example,  I took a picture of my salad yesterday and uploaded it to Kuler.


 Magically, it created the following color palettes!


 Mood: Colorful


 Mood: Bright



Mood: Muted


Mood: Deep

Mood: Dark





 And one more!

This is the comforter and pillow on Annie's bed.




 Mood: Colorful




Mood:  Muted


Mood: Deep



Mood: Dark


SUCH FUN!

Have a COLORFUL day!


Saturday, March 19, 2011

More Maddie!

My family actually accused me of getting a kitten so I could blog about it! 

Not true.

But I spend so much time during my day being entertained by her antics that I find it hard not to write about her.  And she is so much fun to photograph!

For instance,
I was in my bathroom the other day doing my hair and make-up...


    Maddie was inside a white plastic bag on the bathroom floor ready to pounce on the tempting cord of the curling iron!


Then she spotted something on the wall...

So I spend a few minutes making shadows move in the splotch of sunlight on the wall!



                            But then her "toy of choice" arrived. 


I really believe Tigger (aka Mr. Wiggles) secretly enjoys Maddie too.

    She's not one bit afraid of his sometimes gruff exterior.

He tries to play it cool most of the time, but she just doesn't let up!

 If he really wanted to, he could take her down easily
 like all those mice, moles, birds, chipmunks...

            But what she lacks in hunting/fighting experience,
                       she makes up for in agility.

    With his extra winter pounds and lack of exercise,
             Tigger is not moving very fast lately!

    And Maddie has really longgggggg arms!


  She can get in there for a quick punch in the blink of an eye!

 Tigger must read her body language.
 She flattens her ears when she is about to attack.


 When Tigger throws a punch,  she tucks and rolls!  Haha!
 Here she tried attacking from the other side, and it took Tigger a while to flip his 15 lb. body over!

 Yes, that orange furry blob with the legs sticking up is really a cat.

 Ok, now she's looking at the dog collar I have in my hand with the
                                dangling tags.

                           Oh,  &%$#@*?+!

              I'll have to remember to clip those razor sharp claws later!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lady Liberty












Annie at 3.
                                                   






                                                              Annie at 16.





                                           Annie at 23!

Rechargeable!

Before creation, when God was considering how things should be, he decided to make us rechargeable.

Everyone needs sleep.  Sleep is a valued commodity.

Without enough sleep, it is hard to function.

But I don't believe He thought it through.

I used to be a good sleeper.  Then came...

                                             Adam.

Then came...

                                               Kerry.

Then came...

                                                    Annie.


I was a good mother.  I would wake up whenever they even whimpered.

I became a light sleeper.

Then the kids got bigger.  They slept much better.



But there were still plenty of nights when I would wake up to find them standing beside my bed.  It was like I had mental telepathy.  I just knew someone was staring at me.

Bad dreams, tummy aches, wet beds.

Fast forward ------------------ teenagers.
Teens driving.  Teens  staying out late.
Trying to stay awake until they are home safely.

Then they go away to college.

But I am still a light sleeper.

AND now my husband snores.

I have to give him credit.
Over the past 10 years, he has tried NOT to snore.

   - He has worn devices on and in his nose.

   - He has had his uvula removed by laser.
     It worked for about 5 years.

   - He has the Pillar procedure where polyester strips
     are implanted in the soft palette to help stiffen the
     tissue to stop it from vibrating during sleep.
     It helped lessen the noise - for a while.

  - He has gone for multiple sleep studies where
    I was actually hoping he would have sleep apnea
    so he could get a CPAP machine,
    which I have been told stops the snoring.
    He didn't have sleep apnea.

  - I wore ear plugs for a while.  Even wearing ear plugs rated
    to the highest decibel level,  I could still hear the sound,
    only muffled slightly.

  - I even began knocking myself out with benadryl so I could sleep.


I have finally found what works the best.
I sleep in the spare bedroom at the opposite end of the house!

When I first began sleeping there,  I almost couldn't believe how peaceful it was!

My children didn't understand why.  They are not light sleepers - yet.
Until one night last fall when they were with us in the same hotel room.
Adam was so desperate he took the pillow and comforter off the bed and slept in the bathtub with the door closed!

From what I understand,  it is very common for men to snore as they get older.
MANY women have the same complaint as I do.

So, God,  why didn't you think it through a little more?
At least you could have given women a battery that holds a charge longer!