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, February 1, 2018

Annie at 23 - Then and Now (Happy Birthday!)

Happy Birthday, Annie!  Wow!  Twenty-three years old!

Birthday blogs have become a tradition in our family, and I have been racking my brain to come up with a theme that hasn't been done before.  I try to make each birthday blog special because I consider them a gift to my children every year.

This has been an eventful year for Annie.  As I was looking back through the photos taken this year,  I was reminded of those taken in years past.  I've taken A LOT of photos over the years.  I may not have a great memory for some things,  but I can pretty much remember most of the pictures I've taken of my kids.  For this post,  I had to do some digging, but I was able to find what I was looking for!

So here's Annie - then and now.



THEN we had a black cat named Molly. ⬆
NOW Annie has two black cats named Wells and Charles. ⬇


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THEN Annie and Kerry had matching long-sleeve white shirts. ⬆
NOW they have matching sleeveless white shirts. ⬇


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THEN we rode bikes on our street. ⬆
NOW we rode bikes in France. ⬇



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THEN she made friends with the swan at our local duck pond. ⬆
NOW she made friends with the swans in Kensington Park in London. ⬇


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THEN her dad played the part of the prince. ⬆
NOW there's someone else in the picture. ⬇



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THEN Annie was proud to catch a tiny fish. ⬆
NOW Annie was proud to catch a BIG fish. ⬇



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THEN Annie posed with Mrs. BIgge after her concerts. ⬆
NOW Annie's students pose with her after their concerts. ⬇


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THEN Annie wore white sequins for her first dance recital. ⬆
NOW Annie wore white sequins for her senior recital. ⬇


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THEN they posed for Easter in front of our front door. ⬆
NOW they posed for Christmas in front of our front door. ⬇


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THEN we took a boat ride on Lake George. ⬆
NOW we took a boat ride on the Seine in Paris. ⬇



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THEN she played in the band in Middle School. ⬆
NOW she directs the Middle School band. ⬇



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THEN they posed for a picture with their dad. ⬆
NOW they posed for a picture with their dad.  ⬇


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THEN we coordinated our outfits. ⬆
NOW we coordinated our sunglasses. ⬇



Time has gone by.  Annie has grown up.  

So many things have changed.

But in many ways, they remain the same.

May you have the happiest of birthdays!





Saturday, December 30, 2017

Christmastimes



We had a WHITE Christmas this year 
at our house!

We also had 2 dogs & 4 cats,
 many laughs, 
great gift-giving,
lots of food,
and much love for each other.











































Our 3rd annual cookie decorating contest results:
1st place:  Annie (Elf) by one vote 
2nd place:  Kerry (egg)
3rd place:  Adam (grill)