Dancing with the Angels...

Death…it’s inevitable. We can’t protect our loved ones enough to keep them from dying. We have experienced death in our family two times in the last three weeks. Not long lost cousins, or aunts that we hardly knew. These two guys were close to our hearts, very close. One fought for two weeks after his cancer diagnoses; the other didn’t have any time to fight and was perfectly healthy the morning that he passed away. Being around people who are morning puts things into perspective really fast. We don’t know how long our loved ones are going to be here.
Another part of death is explaining it to the youngsters. Hannah took the news of her Papa dying pretty hard. So when it was Angela’s turn to explain that her only other Grandpa had passed away, the task was daunting…not something that any parent wants to have to do. As much as we wish we could protect our children from pain, we can’t. Telling a 9 year old that “it’s all part of life” doesn’t really make sense to them. They want concrete answers that they can see and touch and hear. When death happens we don’t always have those concrete answers.
Making the slide show and coming up with music for the funeral has been interesting. I went with Dancing with the Angels by Monk and Neagle, With Hope by Steven Curtis Chapman, and Third Day’s Cry Out to Jesus. We’ll see how it all turns out…

Sleepovers are the BEST!

I remember when I was younger I was not too

fond of sleepovers. I was kind of (putting it mildly) a mommas girl, and sleepovers meant that she wouldn't be able to tuck me in. Sleepovers are now one of my favorite things ever. I love that it makes me feel like a kid all over again.

On Friday I got to go to a sleepover at some friends house. It was so much fun...and we didn't even stay up all night. After our amazing midnight snack (enchiladas) we called it a night.

Its been 3 days and I am still sore from Wii-ing, and too many attempts to put my foot behind my head.

Im thankful that Ang and I have such amazing friends that we can act silly and have so much fun with. We woke up Saturday morning, and spent the entire day with them. I had a blast!

I just want to scream...

You know that moment when your world kind of stops? Sometimes its a good thing, but sometimes its not a good thing at all. You know when you get a phone call that has only bad news? I have had a few of those phone calls. The most recent being from a dear friend informing me that her sweet mom has cancer. They are words that sting the ears and pierce your heart. I vividly remember my mom telling me that my Grandpa had been diagnosed with cancer, but that it was very treatable....the news from this friend was very different. They don't know where it started, where it has spread to, what "stage" it is in....they don't know much, except they know its cancer. I struggle with words...I can't say "I understand" because my mom has never had cancer. I can't say "it is going to be fine" because it might not be fine. I don't want to say the wrong thing. Its a tough place....she and and her sister are both great friends of mine...I just want to scream and tell them both that I love them and will do anything in the world to help them.

Friends...

You know when you first meet someone and sometimes you have that connection. The connection that is more than just a surface level connection....the connection that you hope lasts a very long time. Angela and I had the great pleasure of being introduced to a couple of girls...Anita in March...and Kim in May. We have that connection. They are pretty amazing women. The kind of women that I love spending time with...the kind of women that I hope to be friends with for a very long time. Angela said it best when she said, "you know they are good friends, when they make you want to be a better person."

So I got to spend time with an old friend today. Well she didnt start out as my friend. She started out as my teacher. I put off taking Art in high school until my senior year, b/c I am not an artist....AT ALL. Shelley was my teacher...but she has become my friend. I think everyone has that teacher in high school that they trust and confide in...she was mine! We would go to basketball games together, I would hang out at her house, we would run errands together after school. I visited her today, b/c tomorrow I get to SUB for her...I can't believe it. I'm pretty lucky to still have her in my life.

There is someone else that I want to tell you about. I dont have much to say about her, other than the fact that she is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. I live with her, know pretty much everything there is to know about her, and love her more than she will ever know. She is more than just my best friend...

Talk

I had one of the best conversations of my life last night. It was with 2 other girls. It was raw. It was honest. It was respectable. It was emotional. It was loving. It was truthful. It was the talk that was just what we all needed. I love the girls that were a part of this conversation. They brought truth to my eyes and my heart that was much needed. We were able to talk about things that some people don't want to talk about....but it needed to be done. Thanks girls!

The girls....

You wanna know what I love? Friends...not just any friends....the kind of friends that you can hang out with for hours and it seems like minutes...the kind of friends that you can completely be yourself around...the kind of friends that you can ask questions to and know they wont laugh...the kind of friends that love you just the way the are...the kind of friends that make you want to be a better person...the kind of friends that before you even leave their home, you want to make arrangements for the next time you will be able to see them...the kind of friends that you know would have your back, no matter what...the kind of friends that can make you laugh so much your tummy hurts......
Last night I spent time with a couple of girls who are all of the above. They are amazing in every sense of the word. The time we get to spend with them is never enough. We all had a blast last night...and I am looking forward to the next time we get to hang out. I just love those girls!

My friend, LC

There are a few people (mostly kids) that can melt my heart the second I see them. My little friend here, LC, is one of those. I got to hang out with her on Saturday for a bit, while her aunts baby shower was in full swing. We got to read an Olivia book together and just hang out. She really is one of the most beautiful kids I have ever seen.



















She is a pretty spunky kiddo who just turned 2 last month. Cant wait to see her again!

Puppies

Here are a few more pictures of the puppies. These were actually taken about a week and a half ago, so they are even bigger now!

Mamma

My mom went to the doctor today at 12:45 because she was having some issues....its 2:30 now and she will be heading into surgery in about 30 minutes. I dont know much at this time other than she told me not to worry. The surgery takes less than an hour, so I should be able to see her around 4 oclock or so. My grandpa is going to be with her right now and my sister and I will be heading over there in about an hour.
She is probably the strongest woman I know. I love her so much...just hoping everything goes smooth.

Vacation is over...

Well vacation is over...we came home to 2 new puppies. They are pretty easy to handle right now, mostly because they cant walk, see, or hear. How much trouble can you get in when you cant even see where you are crawling to? They are fun to hold and still pretty tiny. We have some pretty amazing friends who took care of Sophie while we were on vacation, she was there for the 4am delivery and took great care of all 3 of them until Ang and I got home yesterday. The top picture is Angus and the bottom picture is Jersey. They turned one week old today!

We are so lucky to have such great friends.

We were shown the true gift of hospitality while we were away on vacation. Ms. Tammy let us stay in her home for 7 nights...and it was amazing. She knows that I am allergic to veggies, but her cooking was still delicious. She had a huge crab cookout...I heard that was pretty tastey too. I wouldn't know, b/c I dont eat crab. She was just so darn nice to let us stay at her house for so long.